First-year head coach Jerod Mayo said the Patriots would decide on New England's starting quarterback sometime after Sunday night's preseason finale against the Washington Commanders.
Unfortunately for Mayo, the offensive line's abysmal play overpowered anything positive from Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, or Joe Milton III.
The Patriots' offensive line committed eight penalties, including four illegal formations, had two bad snaps and lost left guard Sidy Sow to an ankle injury in the first half.
One lowlight was Sow running into Layden Robinson, which led to KJ Henry sacking Brissett for a seven-yard loss. Brissett remained in the contest for two additional plays before exiting the game with a right shoulder injury sustained on the play. The veteran quarterback completed two passes for 19 yards on the Patriots' opening drive before handing the reigns over to Maye for the remainder of the half.
Maye fared better than Brissett and overcame the horrendous offensive line play that backed the rookie up to the Patriots' end zone with a bad snap from Nick Leverett. The rookie signal-caller marched New England down the field for his first touchdown by completing five passes for 71 yards and a 17-yard scramble for a first down on third-and-14. Maye connected with Kevin Harris for the 18-yard score.
If the bad snaps weren't enough, Sow also stepped on Maye's ankle, removing the quarterback's cleat in the process. Maye once again kept his composure and completed the short six-yard pass to JaMycal Hasty on third down, but New England was forced to punt on the drive.
Here are more takeaways from the Patriots-Commanders preseason finale:
-- Maye finished the night going 13-for-20 for 126 yards with one touchdown. He also carried the ball three times for 17 yards and had two fumbles that he recovered.
-- Milton continued to slow down under center, completing five-for-17 passes for 78 yards while running three times for 23 yards.
-- The ball was spread evenly with the receivers, with Matt Landers leading the way with 34 yards, followed by Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, who had 33 yards each.
-- David Wallis led New England with 102 yards on four kick returns with an average of 25.5 yards.
-- Chad Ryland converted his lone 38-yard field goal attempt while Joey Slye missed both field goals he attempted from 64 and 60 yards.
