In his final live game opportunity to win the starting quarterback job for Week 1 in Cincinnati, rookie Drake Maye shined in a 20-10 loss for the Patriots on the road in Washington.
Despite some of the sloppiest offensive line play New England has seen this millennium, Maye managed to command the offense, make big plays, connect with fellow rookie receivers, and look unbothered by the frustrating performance from his protection.
In his five series on the night, all of which coming in the first half, Maye was 13 for 20 for 126 yards and 1 touchdown, with a passer rating of 99.2. He also had three rushes for 17 yards, with one of those carries coming on a key third down to keep his touchdown drive alive.
That touchdown drive was his first series under center of the game, and it was special.
The 88-yard drive went for 11 plays, eating up over 6 minutes of clock. Maye was 5 of 6 passing, and moved extremely well in the pocket.
The touchdown was a short pass to running back Kevin Harris, who took the ball 18 yards to the house for a diving touchdown at the pylon.
It’s the second straight week he’s led the offense to a touchdown on his first series.
It’s also worth noting that Maye ends his rookie preseason with no turnovers to his name.
“I think he showed great poise,” said head coach Jerod Mayo. “He went out there, you know, his quarterback rating was 100 or something like that. He made plays, he looked like he was in control of the offense, and did a good job for us.
“Once again, his overall steadiness and being able to come into work every single day and get better - it’s been great to see.”
Maye would have had a second touchdown on the board - a second quarter 48-yard crossbody bomb to a wide-open K.J. Osborn, who walked into the end zone - but the play was called back after offensive tackle Chuks Okorafor was called for his third (!) illegal formation penalty of the first half.
That sequence was a microcosm of why Maye’s night was so impressive. Whether it was bad snaps, intense pressure, or positive plays being called back, the rookie kept his composure and kept the offense moving.
In the first half alone, the offensive line accounted for eight penalties, two bad snaps, and an ankle injury to presumptive starting left guard Sidy Sow after getting knocked on his heels in pass protection.
That was only the second most embarrassing play for Sow on the night, as the first quarter saw him bumping into right guard Layden Robinson, leading to a sack of Jacoby Brissett. Brissett injured his right shoulder on the play, ending his night after one series.
Mayo told the media postgame that it was always the plan to play Brissett “one or two series,” and the veteran quarterback would have been able to return to the game if needed.
If Brissett’s injury does emerge as being more serious than it appears to be at the moment, Mayo said that he was unsure at that present moment if Maye would be the starter Week 1.
“I would like to sit here and say ‘100%,’ he’s our second best quarterback on our roster right now,” said Mayo. “I’m not sure - I’m not sure until I watch the film.”
Sow, Robinson, Okorafor and center Nick Leverett were all notably bad on Sunday night.
But it didn’t matter for Maye.
Throughout NBC’s broadcast, color commentator Cris Collinsworth repeatedly mentioned that Mayo emphasized to him during production meetings that it was still an open competition for the starting quarterback job.
Before the game even started, Collinsworth said, “If [Maye] performs like he has in the past few weeks, he might be the starting quarterback on opening day.”
That sentiment carried throughout the broadcast.
“I think if you're Robert Kraft and watching this game, you don't care that that penalty was called,” Collinsworth said after the Osborn touchdown was called back in the second quarter.
“You just saw your quarterback scramble out, move to the left, throw across his body, and have a touchdown pass. It's going to be a really tough decision. I mean, if you're just going to go by what we've seen on the field so far and eliminate all those other discussions - Drake Maye.”
With Brissett’s banged-up shoulder and a second consecutive positive showing from Maye, Mayo and his coaching staff will have an interesting 24-to-48 hours of decision making at quarterback. That was the timeframe offered up by Mayo last Wednesday.
During the postgame on Sunday, when asked if that was still the timeline he was working with, he walked his comments back a bit.
“Yeah, you know, look - I mean, that’s always the goal,” said Mayo. “And always, as I say, I reserve the right to change my mind. In saying that, look, we gotta watch the film. We get in at 3 o’clock in the morning, so we’ll see. We’ll see if I can get through all the film on the plane.”
Maye told the media postgame that if he’s called upon to start, he feels like he’s ready to roll.
“Yeah, I feel I would feel ready,” said Maye. “I think I’m ready for whatever this football team asks of me, and ready to get out there and try to help us beat the Bengals Week 1.”
Regardless of how cloak-and-dagger Mayo wants to be, one thing was abundantly clear over the last two preseason games:
Drake Maye put great stuff on film, and this should not be an easy decision for the organization.