FOXBOROUGH – Patriots coach Jerod Mayo vowed he would let Drake Maye play more than he did in the first preseason game, and he kept his word.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, the rookie quarterback played significantly more than he did in a seven-snap series in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers.
The wait for Maye, who led four offensive series in the middle quarters, was worth it.
He brought some life to the offense when he entered the game in the second quarter. He was involved in two series, scoring both times. To cap the second series, he ran the ball in from four yards out for a touchdown that gave the Patriots a 10-3 lead.
It wasn’t all rosy for Maye, but he did enough to give some hope for the future during the 14-13 friendly loss to the Eagles.
As it was split, Jacoby Brissett played the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles. Maye played the second and third quarters. Rookie Joe Milton III played most of the fourth quarter. And Bailey Zappe, who played in seven series against the Panthers, came in for the final drive with just over two minutes left in the game.
During the joint training with the Eagles on Tuesday, the Patriots’ offensive line gave neither Brissett nor Maye a chance. Together they were sacked 15 times.
What did it look like in the game?
This is how the individual quarterbacks performed:
Jacoby Brissett: It wasn’t pretty. The veteran, known for his durability, was anything but that during the three series he played in the first quarter. He missed open targets and threw a terrible catch during the second series when the team threatened to score at the Eagles’ 8-yard line.
Overall, he completed 3 of 7 passes for 17 yards with the pick. His QB rating was 10.7 while facing most of the Eagles’ best defensive units.
The fact that the Patriots’ running game was ineffective didn’t help either. Rhamondre Stevenson needed 6 runs for 18 yards.
On this pick, all of his receiving options were covered. Even though it was third down, Brissett should have thrown the ball away to give the team a chance at a field goal. Instead, there were no points, while the Eagles ended up with a field goal on the other end after Avonte Maddox carried the ball 47 yards after his pick in the end zone.
Brissett’s throw was intended for tight end Austin Hooper. With no one available, Brissett tried to force it and paid the price. After chasing Maddox down the field, Brissett was so angry about the throw that, out of frustration, he kicked the ball down the sideline into the Eagles’ goal.
Although Brissett looked good in practice, this was not one of his better performances.
Drake May: He entered the game early in the second quarter. He didn’t play with the entire starting offensive line – minus David Andrews – but four of the five regulars started with him up front.
And Maye looked good whether he was playing center or shotgun. During the first series, Maye hit Javon Baker with a 12-yard dart over the middle. A penalty for roughing the passer (Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith in helmet-to-helmet collision with Maye) helped the drive. Joey Slye eventually kicked a 51-yard field goal.
On the next series, Maye led an 8-play drive that hit the bullseye.
He had completions to Ja’Lynn Polk (6 yards) and JaMychal Hasty (23 yards) before taking the ball from four yards out. Maye executed a nice play fake for Hasty before rolling unchallenged into the end zone for the rookie’s first NFL score.
This gave the Patriots a 10-3 lead at halftime.
The third quarter didn’t go so well.
Maye had two series in the third. On the first, Baker couldn’t quite hold onto a well-thrown deep ball. The rookie wideout had it in his outstretched hands but couldn’t catch it on a third attempt.
Maye’s final series of the night ended with a blindside sack. Vederian Lowe missed Nolan Smith, who brought Maye to the ground with a thud.
In this series, Maye also threw the ball away a few times without anyone being free. He finished the series 6 of 11 passing for 47 yards and a running touchdown.
Maye has made progress, and while the Patriots admittedly try to protect him from offensive line issues, he has never performed better and feels most comfortable on offense.
Joe Milton III: The former Tennessee star, who showed off his athleticism and arm strength against the Panthers, wasn’t quite as electrifying against the Eagles.
He led a scoring charge. It was a bit chaotic, but he still got the job done. There was a fumble snap and a couple of wild misses, but a 12-yard pass to David Wallis and an 8-yard laser to Kayshon Boutte helped the Patriots get into field goal range, with Slye converting from 45 yards out.
Later, with the Pats trailing by one point with 4:18 left, Milton came in for his second drive. He was sacked twice and made it out on three plays.
Bailey Zappe: He was the last man in. He looked like he was going to be the hero and lead the game-winning drive, but a bad snap by Liam Fornadel – essentially a ground ball – resulted in a turnover at 1:32. That was the game.
Zappe had just completed a nice 13-yard sideline pass to Kayshon Boutte to move the ball to the 46-yard line, but he couldn’t do much with a terrible snap.
