“Obviously there’s a lot of room for growth,” Brissett said when asked about the work week. “(But) our operation is getting cleaner.”
Meanwhile, freshman Drake Maye made his first extended appearance. He came on as a substitute early in the second quarter and led the Patriots to their only touchdown drive. Maye put together a respectable eight-play, 49-yard series that ended with a 4-yard run by the freshman that scored the only touchdown of the first half for either team.
“I’m just happy to get in the end zone. I’m happy to score points. It’s fun to go out there,” Maye said.
New England went into halftime with a 10-3 lead thanks to Mayes’ touchdown run and a 51-yard field goal by Joey Slye. But the Eagles responded with a fourth-quarter field goal and a late touchdown drive — plus a 2-point conversion — to make it 14-13 with 4:23 left.
Maye finished the night 6 of 11 for 47 yards and the rushing touchdown. Unofficially, he played 25 snaps in four series, a significant increase from last week against the Panthers, when he played one series and six snaps. The week was the first extended work week for the first-year signal-caller after an extended outing against the Eagles on Tuesday.
“That was always the plan, like I told you last week. It was always the plan to let him play more,” coach Jerod Mayo said. “It was the plan to let him play in the third quarter so we could make some of those adjustments and see if he could handle some of those things.”
“He was very composed. I thought it was a good drive. I thought he went out and did a lot of good things. Hopefully he can build on that.”
On Thursday, Maye got his first chance this summer to play behind the fourth-fifth offensive line. On the second-quarter touchdown drive, center Nick Leverett was the only player not in the starting lineup. And left tackle Vederian Lowe and left guard Sidy Sow (both in the starting lineup) were still in the game, protecting Maye on the first drive of the second half.
“I’m excited to see how he builds on today,” Mayo said of Maye. “But I think he’s done a lot of good things.”
Mayo said the offensive line “should be set in stone after the second preseason game,” so seeing a combination of Lowe, Sow, David Andrews, Mike Onwenu and Chukwuma Okorafor is significant. Based on what we’ve seen this week, barring any significant personnel changes, this is the group that will work together as a unit against the Bengals on Sept. 8.
However, Mayo was not impressed with the offensive line overall.
“They have to get better as a whole, as a unit,” he said. “They just have to get better. And that comes from playing football games. So we have another preseason game coming up and we’re going to play, and the only way you get better at football is by playing.”
New England’s defense did not play several veterans, but others such as Deatrich Wise, Keion White, Anfernee Jennings and Joshua Uche – who will have more to do this season after the transfer of Matthew Judon – were used in several series. Uche and Jeremiah Pharms (the latter is part of a collective that must replace Christian Barmore) were in the game midway through the third quarter.
There are still position battles to consider, including at kicker, where Slye and Chad Ryland are neck and neck heading into the final week of the preseason. And there’s still the possibility of deals between now and the opening game. New England will almost certainly scour the market for reinforcements at offensive tackle.
But after a productive week of work against the Eagles, the top half of the Patriots roster is all but set. Now, looking ahead to the regular season, the veterans know the energy around Foxborough will change when real football comes into focus.
“The urgency is obviously increasing,” Brissett said. “I guess every week we’re here, the stakes are getting higher. I think the guys are aware of that. We’ve got a couple of weeks left before the regular season starts and it’s a big week ahead of us. I’m sure the guys will be ready.”
Christopher Price can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @cpriceglobe.
