The New England Patriots put their faith in Jacoby Brissett by naming him the starting quarterback late last month, and he rewarded them with a fine performance in Sunday's Week 1 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
Brissett didn't light up the stat sheet -- 153 total yards (121 passing, 32 rushing) -- but he made a bunch of winning plays in the 16-10 upset win, including a couple first-down pickups on scrambles outside the pocket.
"It was awesome; that's a great team win right there in all three phases of the game," Brissett told reporters at his postgame press conference. "Everybody stepped up when we needed them to step up. In the game, on the road, in victory formation -- it doesn't get much better than that.
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"I'm proud of the work we put in. The plan on both sides of the ball and special teams was executed to what we thought it was going to be. They had a good plan, too, but today we executed a little bit better."
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Brissett was emotional before the game. Being a starting quarterback is a great opportunity for a 31-year-old veteran like him, and he certainly doesn't take it for granted.
A special pre-game pep talk from head coach Jerod Mayo made a huge impact on Brissett.
"I think I cried three times before the game," Brissett told reporters. "I cried when I got to the stadium. Mayo came up to me before the game, he started laughing, and he's like, 'Man, you're about to win us this game. You're about to ball out.'
"I'd never heard that from a coach. That meant a lot to me. And then I cried when we were going out there on offense. My emotions were definitely high. It's definitely a moment that I just can't take for granted. These things don't come by often."
Mayo has a strong connection with his players, and that was evident throughout training camp as well as Sunday, when the players showered him with a Gatorade bath after his first career win as a head coach. He deserves a lot of credit for the way he communicates with players and his ability to put them in positions to succeed.
Brissett and the Patriots played with plenty of confidence in Week 1, and a lot of that starts with the head coach.