Pretty much everyone in New England was disappointed with how little Drake Maye played in the preseason opener and Jerod Mayo promised more snaps for the No. 3 overall pick Thursday night against the Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Mayo delivered on his promise and Maye delivered in his increased reps, leading a pair of second quarter scoring drives, even if it ended up a 14-13 loss for the Patriots.
While Maye was making plays and tempting fans with his all-around athletic ability at the position, Jacoby Brissett once again struggled in his game-opening reps.
With the Eagles playing mostly backups on both sides of the ball after dominating joint practice action, New England was more than competitive against Philly, building some relative preseason game action momentum this summer despite falling to 1-1 in August work.
Before turning the page to the preseason finale a week from Sunday in Washington, here are the personnel highs and lows from Week 2 of preseason action.
Thumbs up
Drake Maye – After his quick cameo in Week 1, Maye entered for extended playing time on the third series to open the second quarter against Philly. He quickly had a nice run to create a manageable third down that he picked up on a good throw to Javon Baker on a drive to a field goal. The next series saw Maye use his arm and feet once again, this time closing the scoring march with a zone-option keep for a 4-yard touchdown run. Maye also had a few miss opportunities for a much bigger night, including a pair of well thrown deep balls to Baker that his rookie receiver wasn’t able to haul in.
Overall Maye completed 6 of 11 passes for 47 yards in a performance he can certainly build on as he pursues the starting job at some point in his rookie season.
Bryce Baringer – Baringer is coming off a solid rookie season. The Patriots are likely to punt quite a bit in 2024 and the second-year pro appears ready to get to work. He nailed a 64-yarder down to the Eagles 1 in the first quarter. Baringer finished the night with a 51.5-yard average.
Joey Slye – After winning a pressure-simulated back-and-forth battle with Chad Ryland on the practice field last week, the veteran Slye nailed a 51-yard field goal in the first quarter against the Eagles. He then hit a 45-yarder in the fourth quarter. The kicking job appears to be very much up for grabs and at this point the former Panthers, Texans, 49ers and Commanders veteran with an 82.3 field goal percentage on 147 career attempts may be giving Ryland a run for his second-year money.
Raekwon McMillan – The veteran linebacker who’s missed two of the last three seasons on IR made his presence felt against the Eagles.
McMillan had a couple nice pops on defense as well as a big hit on special teams. McMillan drew the praise of Mayo at halftime as he chases a reserve role on the front seven. He finished with a game-high eight tackles, including four solo stops and one for a loss.
Post-Matthew Judon pass rush – On the day that Pro Bowl veteran edge defender Matthew Judon was traded to the Falcons, a number of remaining defenders stepped up to the opportunity to get after Eagles QB Kenny Pickett. Deatrich Wise Jr., Keion White and Josh Uche all had sacks in the first half on the way to five total sacks on the night for the now post-Judon front. This came after the defensive front did a nice job putting pressure on Jalen Hurts on the practice field earlier in the week.
David Wallis – Proving himself a better game-day player than a practice guy, Wallis made a big return in the kicking game for the second straight week. This time it came on a 53-yard well-blocked kickoff return in the fourth quarter. Wallis then had a nice catch for a 12-yard gain minutes later. Wallis, who’s had some ball-security issues on the practice field, did have a near disaster with a muffed punt that he recovered himself in the fourth quarter. Still, Wallis is making a name for himself in preseason action, even if he’s a longshot to make the roster.
Thumbs down
Jacoby Brissett – For the second straight week of exhibition action the veteran journeyman got the start and did nothing to impress playing time. Brissett missed Austin Hooper on an initial third down. On the next series, in the midst of a would-be scoring drive, Brissett threw an interception when he tried to force the ball to Hooper in end zone. On the next series Brissett did his best to throw another interception with a late throw under duress over the middle, something that looked more like a rookie move than a veteran act. Brissett has not been good in his two weeks of preseason reps this summer, pushing more and more people to call for Maye to be the New England starter sooner rather than later this season, maybe even as early as Week 1.
Vederian Lowe – The third-year veteran has settled into practice and preseason reps at left tackle over the last couple weeks. But he and the line have continued to struggle. Lowe saw reps well into the third quarter against Philly – the only “starter” to play that long – and his play didn’t exactly shine. He gave up a blindside sack on Maye on what ended up being the final play of the night for the rookie QB.
Javon Baker – A fourth-round rookie, Baker has flashed at times this summer on the practice field. He certainly has the ability to make plays, but consistency has been lacking. Thursday night he was forced out of bounds on a second-quarter deep ball by Maye and then wasn’t able to even catch the ball regardless of the would-be penalty. Later, he flat-out dropped a beautiful deep ball by Maye down the middle of the field. Baker finished with one catch on four targets for 12 yards – he also drew a PI call – on a night in which he had a shot to make plays and help out his rookie QB.
Center/QB exchange – The depth at the center position behind David Andrews is a major concern this summer. On the practice field and now the game field there have been too many issues on fumbled snaps – both shotgun and under center. That happened for Maye with Nick Leverett in the third quarter and then Joe Milton in the fourth quarter. Then came a bad shot gun snap in the fourth quarter that led to a turnover. Andrews is one of the most important players on the team and a guy who has to stay healthy for the line – and by the extension the offense as a whole – to have a chance at success this season.