FOXBOROUGH – Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett were in top form – at least at the beginning of training.
On the 14th day of training camp, the Patriots welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles and their talented defense for a joint practice session. At first, the team’s quarterbacks had little trouble throwing the ball far against their opponents.
Maye started 10 of 10 and Brissett was 10 of 11 after a 7-on-7 and an 11-on-11 period.
But then the Eagles’ pass rush picked up and the Patriots’ offensive line seemed overwhelmed. What unfolded was a wake-up call for the team’s two best offensive groups.
Maye was sacked six times on his final nine dropbacks at the end of Tuesday’s practice, including a terrible 2-minute drill in which the freshman unit allowed three sacks on four dropbacks.
At the end of the training, the player selected as number 3 overall took all the blame.
“First of all, I’ve got to get the ball out on the first few tries. You can’t take sacks on the first few tries,” Maye said. “Whether I feel something or it’s coming from behind, I’ve got to get the ball out. Other than that, it’s about getting finishes, whether I’m hitting the back, and trying to do something to get us moving. That’s the main thing.”
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Maye started Tuesday by completing 6 of 6 7-on-7 passes, including a spectacular long pass to Javon Baker, who leapt over Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe and received the pass. Maye then completed his first four passes in full-team drills and was 4 of 6 before completing 6 of 12 in 11-on-11 passes.
The problems started in the red zone, where Maye was 0-for-2. In the next period, Maye was sacked three times on five dropbacks. That run included a fumbled snap by center Atonio Mafi.
The freshman finished practice with the 2-minute drill. He was sacked on the first two dropbacks and then threw an incomplete pass to Kayshon Boutte. On the fourth attempt, Maye was sacked again.
In the last two periods with the entire team, Maye was sacked six times.
“Ups and downs,” Maye said. “7-on-7, I thought I threw the ball well. The first team period was OK. Down here in the red zone, I could have made a better throw to (Polk) on the slot fade. Other than that, it was some great reps – great reps to learn from, great defense. They do a good job. Big guys up front and different looks. It was a great learning experience.”
The day wasn’t much better for Brissett and the Patriots’ best offensive unit. Brissett shot 5 of 6 7-on-7 and 5 of 5 in the first two periods at full strength. After that, things went downhill for the Patriots.
Brissett finished 12 of 24 with two interceptions in 11-on-11 drills. Like Maye’s unit, Brissett’s group struggled with the Eagles’ pass rush.
Things started to go wrong in the red zone. Brissett threw a good pass to Austin Hooper, who initially caught the touchdown, but the ball bounced out of his hands and landed at Eagles linebacker Brandon Smith, who intercepted the ball.
Brissett and Hooper later scored a nice 5-yard touchdown, with the experienced tight end redeeming his performance.
The group’s next full-team period ended poorly after Brissett began with completions to Mitchell Wilcox and Hooper. First, Brissett tripped running back Antonio Gibson and was sacked on a play-action call. Next, Darius Slay deflected a pass intended for Tyquan Thornton, Sidy Sow was called for a false start, Thornton dropped a pass and Brissett threw Hooper too far.
That period ended with Brissett being intercepted by Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. on a pass intended for KJ Osborn.
Brissett’s group had a better 2-minute drill than Mayes, but the Patriots got nowhere at the 8-yard line. The veteran quarterback hit Hooper, DeMario Douglas, Jalen Reagor and Douglas again to get inside the 10-yard line. The pass to Reagor was a nice deep ball that the receiver snatched out of the air and eluded two defenders.
Then it all went wrong. Brissett was 0-for-4 with a miss to Hooper, a layup, a pass breakup by Eagles corner Kelee Ringo and then an incomplete pass to Douglas.
Brissett was sacked four times on Tuesday. He would have been sacked on his last pass on fourth down.
“That’s what we need to work on,” Rhamondre Stevenson said. “When it’s 2 minutes and the game is on the line, we need to get in the end zone. Just look at the film and we’ll fix it.”
Joe Milton III and Bailey Zappe played limited games on Tuesday. Milton made 1 of 2 and Zappe made 0 of 2.
The Patriots will hope for a better offensive result when they next take the field on Thursday, facing the Eagles in their second preseason game.
