FOXBOROUGH – Patriots coach Jerod Mayo vowed he would have Drake Maye play more than he did in the first preseason game, and he made good on his word.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday night, the rookie quarterback played quite a bit more than his seven-snap, one series performance in the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers.
Maye, who led four offensive series during the middle quarters, was worth the wait.
He gave the offense some life when he entered the game in the second quarter. He was in for two series, and put up points on both occasions. To cap off the second series, he ran the ball in from four yards out for a touchdown to put the Patriots up 10-3.
It wasn’t all rosy for Maye, but he did enough to provide a bit of hope for the future during the 14-13 exhibition loss to the Eagles.
The way it was split up, 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.
During the joint practice session with the Eagles on Tuesday, the Patriots offensive line didn’t give either Brissett or Maye a chance. They were sacked a combined 15 times.
What did it look like in the game?
Here’s how each of the QBs fared:
Jacoby Brissett: It wasn’t pretty. The veteran, known for his steadiness, was anything but during the three series he played in the first quarter. He missed open targets, and he threw a terrible pick during the second series, with the team threatening to score on the Eagles 8-yard line.
In all, he went 3 for 7 for 17 yards with the pick. His QB rating was 10.7 going against most of the Eagles top defensive unit.
It didn’t help that the Patriots run game went nowhere. Rhamondre Stevenson had 6 carries for 18 yards.
On the pick, all of his receiving options were covered. Even though it was third down, Brissett should have thrown the ball away, giving the team a chance for a field goal. Instead, no points, while the Eagles wound up with a field goal at the other end, after Avonte Maddox took the ball 47 yards following his pick in the end zone.
Brissett’s heave was intended for tight end Austin Hooper. With no one open, Brissett tried to force it, and paid the price. After chasing Maddox down field, Brissett was so angry for making that throw, he wound up kicking a ball into the Eagles net on the sideline out of frustration.
So while Brissett has looked good during practices, this wasn’t one of his better outings.
Drake Maye: He came in at the start of the second quarter. He didn’t play with the entire starting offensive line – no David Andrews – but four of the five starters were up front with him.
And Maye looked good, whether taking snaps under center, or from the shot gun. During the first series, Maye hit Javon Baker with a 12-yard dart over the middle. A roughing the passer penalty (Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith with a helmet-to-helmet hit with Maye) helped the drive. Joey Slye wound up kicking a 51-yard field goal.
The next series, Maye led an 8-play drive that hit paydirt.
He had completions to Ja’Lynn Polk (6 yards) and JaMychal Hasty (23 yards) before taking the ball in from four yards out. Maye executed a nice play fake to Hasty, before rolling into the end zone untouched for the rookie’s first NFL score.
That gave the Patriots a 10-3 lead at the half.
The third quarter didn’t go as 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 come away with it on a third-down play.
Maye’s final series of the night ended with him taking a blindside sack. Vederian Lowe whiffed on Nolan Smith, who took Maye down with a thump.
This series also featured Maye smartly throwing the ball away a few times with no one open. He finished 6-for-11 for 47 yards with a running touchdown.
Maye has been progressing, and while the Patriots admittedly are trying to protect him from offensive line issues, this is the best he’s looked, and the most comfortable running the offense.
Joe Milton III: The former Tennessee star, who showed off his athleticism and arm strength against the Panthers, wasn’t quite as electric against the Eagles.
He did lead a scoring drive. It was a bit helter-skelter, but still got the job done. There was a fumbled snap, and a couple of wild misses on throws, but a 12-yard pass to David Wallis, and an 8-yard laser to Kayshon Boutte helped put the Patriots in field goal range with Slye converting from 45 yards out.
Later, with the Pats trailing by one with 4:18 to go, Milton came in for his second drive. He was sacked twice, going three-and-out.
Bailey Zappe: He was the last guy in. It looked like he was going to be a hero, and lead the game-winning drive, only a poor snap by Liam Fornadel – basically a ground ball – resulted in a turnover with 1:32. That was the ball game.
Zappe had just completed a nice 13-yard sideline pass to Kayshon Boutte to advance the ball to the 46-yard line. Not much he could do with a terrible snap.
