FOXBORO — If the Patriots’ quarterback battle heats up in the final month of training camp, mark Thursday’s 14-13 loss to the Eagles as the starting point of the true competition.
Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye impressed and led his team on two scoring drives in his first considerable playing time of training camp.
Here’s what we learned as the Patriots fell to 1-1 in the preseason.
1. QB competition got interesting
Patriots veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett didn’t do anything to help himself, playing three drives to start Thursday’s game. The Patriots went three-and-out on his first series. Then he led the offense down the field on an eight-play, 31-yard drive before throwing an interception on a target to tight end Austin Hooper, who was too well-covered by Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox for the pick.
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Brissett finished just 3-of-7 for 17 yards with the interception.
Then Maye brought some excitement. His first drive ended with a 51-yard field goal from kicker Joey Slye. Maye’s best pass was a 12-yard completion to rookie wide receiver Javon Baker on third down after a 6-yard scramble to make the first-down conversion manageable. The drive stalled when Maye threw a deep ball down the left sideline out of bounds to Baker.
Maye scored on a 4-yard run to cap off his second drive. He kept the ball on a zone-read to scamper to his right for a score. Maye hit rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk for a 5-yard gain. Polk should have been stopped for no gain, but he made two Eagles defenders miss to pick up extra yardage. Running back Kevin Harris ripped off a 14-yard run with solid blocking from the entire offensive line. Maye also hit running back JaMycal Hasty on a 23-yard catch and run.
Maye went three-and-out on his third drive, which came in the third quarter. He delivered a perfect deep ball to Baker, but the rookie wideout couldn’t hold on as he fell to the ground on the diving attempt.
Maye took a sack to cap off his fourth and final drive. Harris chipped Eagles pass rusher Nolan Smith, but left tackle Vederian Lowe still couldn’t get in his way before the sack. Maye showed good decision making, throwing away two passes on the drive. The Patriots picked up 15 yards on a defensive pass interference penalty on the series, and Maye’s lone completion went for no gain to Polk.
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Maye finished 6-of-11 for 47 yards with four rushes for 15 yards with a touchdown.
So, what does this mean for the QB competition? We’ll see. But Maye hasn’t received a single first-team rep in training camp. Now that he’s proven himself in a game, perhaps that changes and the starting battle actually begins to take shape with a few weeks left until the regular season.
2. OL remains unchanged
The Patriots started Lowe at left tackle, Sidy Sow at left guard, David Andrews at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard and Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle, which means there were no adjustments after a rough showing during a joint practice with the Eagles on Tuesday.
Maye did not receive an entire backup offensive line when he entered the game, however. First, Nick Leverett replaced Andrews at center. Then on his second drive, rookie Layden Robinson came in at right guard, and rookie Caedan Wallace came in at right tackle. For Maye’s fourth drive, Michael Jordan replaced Sow at left guard.
Overall, the offensive line performed OK outside of Lowe, who let up the sack, a pressure on an incompletion from Brissett and was flagged for a false start. It must be taken into account that they were not blocking the Eagles’ top defensive line.
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3. Pressure without Judon
Let’s use that same caveat: The Patriots’ defense was not playing against the Eagles’ top offensive line, but they were causing fits for Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett.
After trading Matthew Judon to the Falcons for a 2025 third-round pick on Wednesday night, defensive ends Keion White and Deatrich Wise, cornerback Isaiah Bolden and outside linebacker Josh Uche all had first-half sacks.
White, Wise and Uche will all be key in replacing Judon on the edge this season.
Defensive tackles Jeremiah Pharms and Trysten Hill, outside linebacker Oshane Ximines and safety Joshuah Bledsoe also brought pressure in the first half.
Ximines sacked Eagles QB Will Grier in the fourth quarter, as well.
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4. Kicker competition
Incumbent kicker Chad Ryland still hasn’t gotten a shot at a field goal in the preseason, while Slye, his competition, is 3-of-3. Slye handled one kickoff and made field goals of 51 and 46 yards.
Ryland was 1-of-1 on an extra-point attempt. He handled two kickoffs.
The competition has been tight throughout the summer.
Up
QB Drake Maye
Was he perfect? No. Did he give the Patriots a spark? Absolutely. Maye only received six offensive snaps in Week 1 of the preseason. He showed flashes of why he was the third overall pick on Thursday night with his arm and his legs.
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LB Raekwon McMillan
McMillan, coming off of his second season-ending injury in three years, looked like a classic Patriots linebacker. He was a force in the run game with eight tackles with a tackle for loss. He also assisted on another tackle for loss and contributed a special teams tackle.
DE Keion White
White is the top player who needs to step up in Judon’s absence. He sacked Pickett and brought pressure on another 3-yard desperation scramble from the backup QB.
Down
LT Vederian Lowe
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Lowe is the current top left tackle. We’ll see how much longer that lasts after Thursday night, when he let up a sack, a QB hit and was flagged for a false start. Third-string offensive lineman Atonio Mafi also struggled, allowing two sacks.
CB Marcellas Dial
Dial was a favorite target of Eagles quarterbacks. The rookie, who’s battling for a roster spot, appeared to let up seven catches for 87 yards. He also allowed a two-point conversion.
WR Javon Baker
The level of difficulty was high on the pass from Maye, but Baker should have hauled in the rookie QB’s deep shot. Baker also ran a route almost completely out of bounds.
Alex Cora missed Monday’s series opener with the New York Mets, see his only daughter, Camila, graduate from Boston College, and he doesn’t care if people disagree with his decision.
The Red Sox manager was in a good mood before Tuesday evening’s game at Fenway, and seemed genuinely unfazed by the criticism. He described Monday as “tremendous” and a “great day.”
“Excellent. Just the day that we will always remember,” Cora said of the big family event.
While most Red Sox fans on social media seemed to support Cora’s decision, there were a few loud critics, including 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Mike Felger, who said Monday it was “preposterous” for the manager to miss the 6:45 p.m. game when the graduation took place in the morning. Unlike players, whom Felger reasoned are part of a players’ union, he said Cora had no excuse to take the night off.
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“They were, I believe, done by noon, which means you can have a nice big party in the middle of the day,” the radio personality said. “Just cab down the street and manage the game.”
“It’s just the tone you set, the example you set for the team,” Felger continued. “It’s just the leadership and optics of the whole thing. It’s a very easy chance for him to say, ‘Nothing’s more important than tonight’s game.’”
Without directing his response to Felger or anyone else, Cora said that he took the entire day off at the behest of his daughter. He also pointed out that he would’ve needed to miss more time if the graduation was out of state, saying, “There’s coaches that, they take three days for that.”
“She wanted me to be with her, and it was her day so this is secondary,” Cora said. “You know, we’re in this world for a purpose, right, and for me, it’s to raise her, try to do the best we can. Obviously it wasn’t perfect, but right now, it’s perfect.”
Asked if he was bothered by the criticism, Cora laughed.
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“People have their own opinions,” the Sox skipper then said. “I bet those people, they have families too, and at one point they had to make decisions, too. And I bet they made decisions for the best of the family. I made the best decision for my daughter, and for those who don’t understand, I’m not gonna try to convince them. It is what it is. I made the best decision for my girl.”
In his May 17 dance review, “Boston Ballet looks back and forward in ‘Spring Experience,’ ” (Living/Arts, Page B6), Jeffrey Gantz writes, “Designer Robert Perdziola’s color palette is austere … gold, silver, and white all edging into gray, and the costumes lack texture and dimension.” What I saw was a most beautiful integration and balance of color, texture, pattern, and lighting, which together created exquisite staging. The gentle, almost cloudlike backdrop worked perfectly with the equally gentle but lightly patterned costumes and beautifully complemented the choreography. Neither detracted from or dominated the others. This was perhaps the best example of Boston Ballet’s almost always superb staging, and I say that as a season subscriber going back to the 1970s.
On the latter two performances, Jiří Kylián’s “ 27’52” ” and his “Petite Mort,” Gantz’s review was mostly just an outline of the action on the stage. Both these pieces are highly complex and energetic and leave a lot to unpack and interpret. My wife and I had a long conversation about these works well into the night. Those who enjoy Boston Ballet’s contemporary performances have a lot more to look forward to than the review suggested.
We knew Jaylen Brown was battling a knee injury during the Celtics’ playoff run. Now we know the severity of the ailment that has hampered the Boston star since March.
Brown played the last part of the season with a partially torn meniscus in his right knee, according to ESPN’s Ramon Shelburne. Brown will be evaluated this week to determine if he’ll need to undergo surgery during the offseason.
Brown started receiving injections in his knee back in March to help with the injury, and missed six games over a 13-game stretch late in the season to rest up before the playoffs. He was able to play through the injury and suited up for all 11 of Boston’s postseason games, and though Brown lacked his usual explosiveness, he was still able to average 22.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per contest for the Celtics.
“I don’t make excuses,” Brown told reporters after Boston’s season-ending loss to the New York Knicks on Friday night. “Obviously, it’s tough the way we went out like tonight, but the way we finished the year, personally, the way I finished the year, persevering through some physical stuff that I was battling through, I’m proud of our group.”
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News of Brown’s injury further complicates an already iffy offseason for the Celtics. The team is already facing the likelihood of playing all of next season without superstar forward Jayson Tatum, who underwent surgery for a rupture Achilles last week in New York. With Brown’s status now in question, there’s a chance the Celtics will be without their two best players to start the 2025-26 NBA season.
After taking home MVP honors in the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals last summer, Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and a career-best 4.5 assists over 63 regular-season games for Boston in 2024-25.
Jaylen Brown staying optimistic after Celtics postseason loss
The Celtics’ title defense ended Friday night with a blowout loss to the Knicks in New York in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. Boston became the sixth straight defending champ to lose in the second round.
Brown was obviously disappointed with the result, and the Celtics are likely heading into an offseason of change given the team’s massive payroll and the uncertainty with Tatum and Brown’s injuries. But Brown remains optimistic the Celtics will be back in the contender’s seat in the near future.
“Losing to the Knicks feels like death. But, I was always taught that there’s life after death. So, we’ll get ready for whatever’s next, whatever’s next in the journey I’ll be ready for,” Brown said Friday.
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“You just take this with your chin up. I know Boston, it looks gloomy right now, obviously, with JT being out and the end of the year. But there’s a lot to look forward to, and I want the city to feel excited about that,” added Brown. “This is not the end. I’m looking forward to what’s next.”
Matt Geagan
Matthew Geagan is a sports producer for CBS Boston. He has been part of the WBZ sports team for nearly 20 years. He moved over to the web in 2012 and has covered all the highs (and a few lows) in Boston sports.
