Maye, the No. 3 pick, played 25 snaps in four series. He played under center, from the shotgun position and in empty backfields. He made adjustments with the coaches at halftime and returned for two more series in the third quarter. There was only one pre-snap penalty, a false start by left tackle Vederian Lowe on Maye’s second play. Giving Maye that kind of expanded playing experience was a win in and of itself for the Patriots.
And Maye’s performance wasn’t bad either. His final numbers aren’t exactly impressive — 6 of 11 passing for 47 yards, plus four runs for 15 yards — and the Eagles didn’t have many starters on defense, but Maye definitely showed he belongs.
In the first half, the Patriots scored 10 points on two drives from Mayes, converting 3 of 4 third-down opportunities. He had good foresight to throw a 12-yard pass to Javon Baker on third and 5. Maye threw a beautiful deep ball to Baker that should have been caught. Maye dodged the blitz well and threw the ball out of bounds twice on one drive. And it was even a positive that Maye took a big blindside sack from Nolan Smith in the third quarter. That was Maye’s first big NFL hit, and now he’s got it behind him.
Mayes’ performance wasn’t perfect – he was too high on some throws, he dropped a snap and completed just 1 of 4 passes for 0 yards after halftime – and he benefited from a roughing the passer penalty and a 23-yard screen pass to JaMycal Hasty on third-and-11.
Despite all the rumors that Maye didn’t show much in training camp and then underperformed in the first preseason game, his performance was encouraging. Patriots fans can now put their panic behind them.
▪ Maye is definitely an athlete, too. Coming out of North Carolina, there was talk of him being a dual threat, similar to Josh Allen, and Maye looks like he can make plays with his feet. He evaded pressure a few times with scrambles and then scored a 4-yard touchdown on a read-option play by darting right into the end zone with relative ease. The Patriots’ last quarterback, Mac Jones, couldn’t make plays with his feet. Maye’s size and athleticism will open up new opportunities for Alex Van Pelt, especially in the red zone.
▪ Maye appears to have a connection with Baker, the fourth-round pick out of Central Florida. Maye targeted Baker on 4 of 11 pass attempts, plus another that resulted in a defensive pass interference penalty. Baker caught just one of those passes for 12 yards and had a difficult drop on a deep ball, but it’s notable that Maye looked his way so often. Second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk was the only other receiver to catch multiple passes from Maye (two).
▪ Jacoby Brissett, stop with the interceptions now. He threw a bad pass in the end zone to cornerback Avonte Maddox in the first quarter as he tried to force a tight end pass to Austin Hooper while his other receivers were covered. Brissett nearly threw another pass at the end of the first quarter when his pass bounced off DeMario Douglas.
Historically, Brissett is great at avoiding interceptions, catching just 1.4 percent of his pass attempts, tied with Aaron Rodgers for the lowest mark in NFL history. The Patriots only have a chance this year if Brissett protects the ball.
▪ Preseason games are a great opportunity to improve the running game and offensive line cohesion, and the Patriots made some progress despite the Eagles largely not playing with their starting defense. In the first quarter, the Patriots managed 15 yards on four consecutive runs and converted two third-and-shorts before Brissett threw an interception.
Running back Rhamondre Stevenson also had an impressive performance, fighting through two defenders to get a third-and-one after being hit in the backfield, then running after defenders for a 5-yard run on the next play. Stevenson later rammed his nose into a defender in pass protection, giving Brissett enough time to throw.
▪ Don’t look now, but veteran Joey Slye is trying his hand at the kicking competition. Slye was called for all three field goal attempts in preseason games and made all three, from 42, 45 and 51 yards. Slye also outdid Chad Ryland in practice last week, hitting 3 of 4 in a pressure situation while Ryland hit 2 of 4 and missed twice from 52 yards. Slye, who is on his seventh team in six seasons, could slowly pull away from Ryland.
▪ Receiver Jalen Reagor, who had a 98-yard kickoff return last year, should earn a spot on the roster as a returner. He had a 15-yard punt return and a 32-yard kick return in the first quarter, as well as a nice 7-yard catch in the scrum. David Wallis could earn a spot on the practice squad with his 53-yard kickoff return a week after running for 23 yards on a punt return.
▪ Second-year cornerback Alex Austin, who is battling for a spot in the starting lineup, had a good game for the second week in a row. Last week it was a couple of tackles in the open field. On Thursday he plowed through a blocker and made the tackle on a bubble screen.
Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].
