The New England Patriots offense was an unmitigated disaster in Thursday night's loss to the New York Jets.
Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 12 of his 18 passes for only 98 yards in the 24-3 defeat. He was sacked five times before being replaced by rookie Drake Maye with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
It was an unremarkable NFL debut for Maye. The third overall draft pick was 4-for-8 with 22 yards and was sacked twice, marking seven total sacks and 15 QB hits for the Jets defense. As a unit, the Patriots offense amassed just 139 yards with an average of 2.9 yards per play.
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Despite the offense's struggles, Pats head coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt are sticking with Brissett as their QB heading into Week 4 vs. the San Francisco 49ers. But should they consider giving Maye a chance to start?
Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry discussed on the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast.
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Patriots crash to Earth vs. Jets; how do they pick up the pieces? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"I don't think so," Perry said of benching Brissett in favor of Maye. "I think he is exactly what they need right now, and I think even though Drake Maye was inserted (Thursday), if you're Jerod Mayo, you can make that move under the guise of, 'We're just trying to give him some reps and get him some live action in a real live situation.' There were a bunch of starters that were out. ...
"You can give Drake Maye his little sprinkling of NFL live reps and then take him right back out for Week 4 and it's not really a conversation. There is no controversy, in my opinion. If you start him and then you want to toggle back and forth, that's doing too much. ... The line's not ready for him, and I'm not sure he's ready either given how he played tonight."
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Curran isn't convinced Maye will fare any better than Brissett behind the porous Patriots offensive line.
"I think he'll look terrible," he said. "I think people will say, 'My God, what did we do this for?' I think it'll look that bad.
Judging by Maye's brief cameo on Thursday night, Perry worries that throwing the North Carolina product into the fire would stunt his development.
"I would be afraid of him regressing," Perry said. "I know it's spur of the moment and even though he's preparing like he has to play, he's probably not expecting it mid-game like that. For his first throw to almost get picked, probably should have been picked, that's not a great sign.
"And then there were issues navigating the pocket. He had that one scramble where he took a huge shot. ... So, I just be worried you get enough of those types of plays where eventually all that work they put into the footwork ends up sort of falling to pieces."
Also in the episode:
- Dissecting what went wrong in New York.
- Credit to the toughness of Jacoby Brissett.
- What was the locker room like after the game?