FOXBOROUGH — Sunday’s game was not the type anyone is likely to remember. One struggling team beat another for a result that won’t impact much more than NFL Draft order six months from now.
But for the Patriots’ coaches and teammates who played alongside him, the 25-22 victory over the New York Jets is likely how they’ll remember Jacoby Brissett.
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It was a dramatic victory in a season where all wins have been hard to come by. And it was a win over the hated Jets. And more than that it was a game that wiped clean, at least temporarily, a week that had been filled with distractions and outside noise. In a week when the Patriots’ toughness and leadership were questioned, Brissett modeled both.
“It’s a great job by Jacoby just being a veteran in this league,” Davon Godchaux said in his Louisiana drawl. “That’s why he’s a captain on our team. A guy that got his position took and has just been going about it the right way the whole time.”
The journeyman quarterback knew what he was in for when he signed in New England. Start until the kid was ready. Teach and lead. Play with pride but don’t have an ego. Put his body on the line for games that likely won’t matter. Show toughness over and over again.
It entailed getting a hit a lot, booed and blamed when the offense faltered. Brissett did it honorably even if not terribly effectively for the first five weeks of the season.
Amid considerable fanfare, Drake Maye took over two weeks ago to start what the next era of Patriots football. He showed all the promise everyone hoped for when the Patriots drafted him third overall.
But on Sunday against the Jets, Maye left the game with a concussion, leaving Brissett in charge of trying to protect the Patriots from suffering first season-series sweep to their moribund New York rivals since 2001.
“When he got in the huddle, he told everyone, ‘Alright, take a deep breath, let’s go to work,’” said tight end Austin Hooper. “When there’s chaos going on, he never wavers. That’s why he’s a team captain.”
In front of the same fans who booed him, who thought their afternoon was ruined when Maye walked off the field and he walked on it, Brissett delivered an admirable performance. He completed 15 of 24 passes of 132 yards. His numbers could have been better if not for a handful of drops by his receivers, but it didn’t matter.
He was more aggressive throwing the ball than when he started and played well enough to win. On the Patriots’ winning drive in the final three minutes, Brissett was very good. He completed a 12-yard pass to Hunter Henry and then scrambled for 14 yards. On third and 9 with just over a minute left he hit Kayshon Boutte for a 34-yard reception that set up Rhamondre Stevenson’s winning touchdown.
“He has held his situation this season with poise. He has been nothing short of amazing in his role in handling adversity,” Jonathan Jones said. “He has done a great job at that. He blocked out the noise, he came in and was a leader. He did everything we needed him to do.”
Brissett is likely just headed for another team next year. He’ll be somebody’s temporary starter or experienced backup while Maye takes over full-time at Gillette. But on Sunday he beat the Jets and he beat future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
That means something to him even if the playoff race remains unaffected.
“To go out there and get a win with our guys, it was sweet. You can’t put it into words,” Brissett said. “I’m not trying to be arrogant or nothing, but I’m very proud of myself today. …It was just believing in myself, sticking to what I know is right — that I can play in this league.
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
