An evening to forget for Jacoby Brissett and Co. in the Pats’ offense line. And you can guess what the 24-3 loss to the Jets has done. Patriots Nation’s not happy with Brissett and all speculation has started around a change under center with the inclusion of Drake Maye, maybe. But the HC Jerod Mayo has come out and addressed the rumors and he has hit with the classic.

“Jacoby is our quarterback until I say he’s not our quarterback,” Mayo laid it out straight. You gotta feel for Brissett, right? The guy’s got the veteran chops, but with a shaky O-line, it’s been hard to get anything going. Can you really back him when he’s constantly picking himself off the turf?

Thursday night’s loss to the Jets was brutal for Brissett. Sacked five times, pressured on more than half of his dropbacks, and barely scraped together 98 passing yards—yeah, rough night. It’s been a recurring theme in this season. The offensive line is practically a turnstile, and Brissett’s paying the price.

With the game already decided, Mayo threw rookie Maye into the fire. He led a solid drive but got sacked twice and took some serious hits. And Amazon Prime’s Al Michaels couldn’t have said it better when he said: “Welcome to the league,” when Maye got brought down on the third drive. But hey, at least the kid got some experience under his belt. Or how they say: Baptism by fire.

Nonetheless, Mayo’s sticking with Brissett as the starter, but here’s the interesting bit—Maye’s already getting 30% of the practice snaps with the starters. That’s not exactly standard for a backup, right? Yet, the Pats HC insists that nothing’s changing as they prep for the 49ers in week 4. Business as usual… at least on the surface.

Meanwhile, Drake Maye has also dropped his two cents on the whole debacle. And you’d see that he at least showed his maturity during the presser.

Drake Maye: Ready to drive the Patriots offense?

“I’ve been preparing like I’m the starter.” This is what Drake Maye had to say after getting his first taste of NFL action. Sure, it was mop-up duty, but as he said, he had been waiting for the opportunity could come at any time. And he was!

Maye stepped in with just five minutes left, completing 4 of 8 passes for 22 yards and picking up 12 more on the ground. But let’s not sugarcoat it—he also took two sacks and got hit five times by a relentless Jets defense. Reflecting on the experience, Maye admitted, “You can’t take stupid sacks.” But he also showed flashes of what he can do under center, hitting DeMario Douglas over the middle with pingers, and moving the chains. Not a bad debut, right? Especially when Jacoby Brissett, on the other hand, had a rough night.

But Maye was not letting anyone take a hit on Brissett. That’s exactly what you want from your team: Chemistry! Maye called him a “great leader” who “kept on getting up every time.” That’s the kind of grit you love to see, but you have to wonder—how long can the Pats stick with Brissett if the losses keep piling up?

Well, we already have an answer to that now as the HC Jerod Mayo was pretty blunt with his response. But it does not bother Drake Maye because he is ready whenever the calling comes. “I’m doing week in, week out, being ready when my name is called,” he said.

He knows it’s tough to step into a blowout loss. But at this point, do the Patriots really have anything to lose by giving him a real shot? What do you think—keep riding with Jacoby Brissett or see what Drake Maye’s got in his arsenal?

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