The New England Patriots head coach, Jerod Mayo, did tease us that Drake Maye would play more than the seven snaps he did against the Carolina Panthers. Although he wasn’t the starter against the Eagles on Thursday night, the QB did show flashes of brilliance on the field. Jacoby Brissett, the incumbent starter for the Patriots this season, had a wonderful training camp while being given the nod to start over their No. 3 overall draft pick.

Playing the first quarter, the veteran had a terrible time, to say the least. Summing up his night, the Patriots coach stated, “Jacoby Brissett’s interception was a terrible play, and he had other players open.” Mayo also added that even Jacoby would admit his mistakes if asked. The one-time Super Bowl champion had a night to forget when he went 3-of-7 for 17 yards while finishing with a QB rating of 10.7 against the Eagles’ resolute defense.

But that’s not all, as Brissett made a huge mistake when it was third down with an opportunity for a field goal. Although the majority of his receiving options were guarded, Brissett decided to leave the ball to TE Austin Hooper. That’s when all went wrong, as Eagles CB Avonte Maddox intercepted the pass in the end zone while carrying it for 47 yards. Even though Brissett tried to chase him down the field, the Eagles ended up winning their own field goal on the other end.

At the end of the play, Brissett was so angry with himself that he decided to boot the ball into the Eagles’ net out of frustration. On the back of such a poor showing, Drake Maye was called in for the second quarter. From the moment he stepped onto the field, Maye brought out his strong arm and savviness on the run that wasn’t there against the Panthers. For his first series, he hit Javon Baker for a 12-yard pass over the middle. A play drive led by him resulted in a 51-yard field goal by Joey Slye.

Well, Maye didn’t stop there, as he completed passes to Ja’Lynn Polk for 6 yards and JaMychal Hasty for 23 yards while ending his second drive with a 4-yard rushing TD. This gave the Patriots a 10-3 lead going into the half. However, Jerod Mayo was still not impressed by his rookie QB after he turned the tide for the Patriots.

Will Jerod Mayo make Drake Maye the undisputed starter after his pre-season brilliance?

Speaking after the game regarding Maye’s prospects of starting over Brissett, Mayo stated, “If he’s better than Jacoby, then he’ll play. He’ll start.” Well, looking at last night’s game, Maye was indeed better than Brissett with a 6-of-11 for 47 yards while adding his first TD. Although the rookie had one disappointing moment during the third quarter when he took a blindsided sack from Nolan Smith, Looking at his overall performance, Maye is progressing well amid the Patriots’ offensive line issues.

His stepping onto the field did change the Patriots’ fortune, but it wasn’t enough, as the home team lost 14-13. Even Mayo praised the rookie for the impact he made after coming on: “I thought he went out there and did a lot of good things. Hopefully, he can build on that, and we’ll see how this week goes.” Maye did end up sharing the field with most of the starting offensive line, leaving David Andrews, who started in the first quarter.

Out of all the players, Polk opened up about Maye’s instant impact, stating, “He’s been growing tremendously, really, all of those guys. Just to see the improvement they continuously bring for the team, it’s awesome to be a  part of it.” As New England prepares for their last preseason game against the Washington Commanders, Will we get to see Drake Maye handed the keys to the offense, or will Mayo continue to take his time developing the rookie?