FOXBOROUGH – More Drake Maye. More Drake Maye. Is everyone happy now?
The No. 3 overall draft pick out of North Carolina finally had a chance to show everyone at Gillette Stadium what the future looks like on Thursday night. Maye played the entire second and third quarters of a 14-13 Patriots loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in their second preseason game. Unlike last week in the rain, where Maye only played one series, he was featured in this game and fans now have a lot more to talk about and imagine.
Experts do too, as they have been keen to see Maye in more authentic game situations. Granted, the Eagles have used very few starters, and the few that have been used have mostly been when Jacoby Brissett has been at quarterback. Maye has been faced with some interesting situations, and everyone now has something to think about.
The most telling element you can take away from this game is that Maye was head and shoulders above Brissett. The numbers show it, and your eyes know it. Brissett seems mechanical and in tune with his receivers, but Maye seemed relaxed, confident, calm, composed and in control.
Maye finished the game 6 of 11 passing for 47 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. His rating was 65.3. That rating is a little misleading, as he didn’t have that bad a game. It’s just that his time there didn’t show much progress or any kind of consistent rhythm. For comparison, Brissett completed 3 of 7 passing for 17 yards and an end zone interception, and a rating of 10.7.
(PHOTO: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports)
What Maye did was run the offense the way it was supposed to be run, or rather the way he was told to run it. Maye didn’t make any stupid throws, had only close calls on some misses, and generally looked like he knew what he was doing. Fans seemed to want more and more from Maye, and head coach Jerod Mayo obliged.
What Maye didn’t do was mostly nothing spectacular. No laser throws into tight coverage, no long bombs, no consistent rhythm, just more or less running a baseline offense as best he could. His best throw of the night was probably a left-seam throw to Javon Baker in the second quarter that hit Baker right as he made his in-cut. Later in that drive (which ended with a 51-yard field goal by Joey Slye), on third-and-8 at the Eagles 33, Maye found Baker with a deep pass to the left sideline where the ball was put in, but Baker couldn’t complete the diving catch. Baker will have to make catches like that one day and secure the catch, but the throw, while a little high, was nicely put in.
The only real downside to Maye was that he took an 8-yard loss on his final play of the third quarter. That play was more due to the offensive line not making a switch than to May doing anything stupid. Most of the time, Maye was able to get rid of the ball when he had no chance, avoiding both injury and a potential catch.
Maye did score a touchdown, but it was by rushing and not passing.
Just before the end of the first half, Maye led the Patriots on an eight-play, 49-yard drive that ended with Maye running the ball in from four yards out. Maye set up the drive with a nice screen pass to JaMichael Hasty for 23 yards, securing first and goal at the 7. Three plays later, Maye took the snap at the 4, faked Hasty, and then ran to the right as his block was well set up. Maye ran the ball in unchallenged.
There was a report this week that said something like, “Watch out when Maye leaves the pocket and turns right!” In this case, it was exactly right.
Everyone out there will be clamoring for Maye to start the season opener against Cincinnati. And this writer still asks everyone to exercise caution in that regard. What Maye did Thursday night was not against the Eagles’ defense, and the Patriots’ offensive line is still evolving. You have Brissett here for a reason, and you don’t want Maye to suddenly become the next Mac Jones.
The Patriots finish the preseason in a week on Sunday at Washington, then make their final cuts and prepare for the regular season. Whatever Mayo plans to do with the Patriots, it still makes more sense to bench Maye this season than to put him there and let him get wasted. It’s nice to get a glimpse of what Maye can and will do someday, but Brissett needs to start the season as the number one quarterback.
Of course, you can’t expect everyone to like this decision. Maye played well on Thursday night, there’s no doubt about that. But Maye needs to be treated like a marathon, not a sprint.
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Drake Maye New England Patriots Philadelphia Eagles
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