Experienced Jacoby Brissett, who has a good chance to begin the season as a starter, entered the starting lineup on Thursday and also played just one series, going 0 for 3.
The plan was for Maye and Brissett to each get a series.
“That was always the plan, to bring him in there for a series,” said Jerod Mayo, the Patriots’ new head coach, “to bring Jacoby in there for a series and really make it the (Bailey) Zappe show and the Joe (Milton III) show, that was the plan from the beginning.”
By all accounts, the cameos of Brissett and Maye were smart decisions by Mayo. The game was played in pouring rain and the Patriots’ offensive line is also in trouble.
“That’s always a consideration, if he’s in, you want him in the starting lineup on the offensive line,” Mayo said of the fear of having Maye play behind an offensive line that has struggled with injuries. “You want to protect that guy, not saying we don’t want to protect the other guys, but that was definitely a factor.”
In the small sample size, Maye showed promise. He looked confident and offered glimpses of the strong arm that made him a first-round pick. He admitted to battling some nerves, but that’s nothing new for the North Carolina product.
“I think you’re always a little nervous,” he said. “I think if you don’t get nervous, if you’re not nervous about something, then it means nothing to you. That’s how I look at it. I think nervousness is a good thing. After the first snap, at the end of the game, you get your balance back. I think being out there on the field and just running is a different feeling. It’s hard to replicate that in practice.”
Maye made his first NFL appearance with 11:11 minutes left in the first quarter and walked to the bench to the applause of the home team’s loyal fans.
He gave up on his first two snaps, which resulted in a false start penalty. That led to a third-and-13 that Maye converted with a beautiful screen for Antonio Gibson, where he calmly and composedly made a perfect throw to the running back in the face of the rush.
He followed with a high ball that slipped through the hands of Jalen Reagor, and after a run by Gibson, he faced third-and-long again. Maye took 11 yards, hit running back Kevin Harris in the flats and gained 6 yards. The Pats punted one play later, as they had done on their first four drives.
On the following drive, Zappe replaced Maye, much to the chagrin of the home fans.
There wasn’t much to analyze, but Maye was there in his first outing, showed some promise, and is now on his way to the next one. It was simply a dull and overcast day that didn’t give him the best opportunity to shine, but he will have plenty of opportunities to do so in the future.
“This is the first preseason game, we have two left,” Mayo said, “he will have plenty of opportunities to play against the other two teams before the regular season.”
