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What we learned in Patriots’ 14-13 preseason loss to the Eagles
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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