Drake Maye flashes upside in Patriots preseason finale after Jacoby Brissett leaves with shoulder injury

With New Englands |A| quarterback competition still ongoing, |B| Jacoby Brissett got banged |C| up and Drake Maye |D| flashed his upside in |E| the Patriots preseason finale |F| against the Washington Commanders |G| Sunday night.

Brissett got |H| the start against Washington |J| backups and sustained what |K| the Patriots announced was |L| a right shoulder injury |M| on New Englands first |O| drive of the game. |P| Commanders defensive end K.J. |Q| Henry ran through the |R| New England backfield untouched |S| and sacked Brissett, driving |U| his body into the |V| turf.

Brissett grimaced after |Y| the hit but remained |Z| in the game to |A| complete the drive. He |B| threw two more passes |C| before a Patriots punt. |D| When New Englands offense |E| took the field next, |F| Maye was at quarterback.

|G| dir="ltr">How serious is Brissetts |H| injury?

Cameras, meanwhile, caught |J| Brissett clutching his shoulder |K| on the sideline, but |L| it wasnt clear how |M| much the decision had |O| to do with injury. |P| Head coach Jerod Mayo |Q| said prior to the |R| game that Brissett was |S| only expected to play |U| a series or two.

|V| dir="ltr">The Patriots eventually announced |Y| in the second quarter |Z| that Brissett sustained a |A| right shoulder injury. He |B| was officially listed as |C| questionable to return, and |D| he remained in pads |E| on the sideline the |F| rest of the way, |G| but his night was |H| clearly done.

Patriots |J| coach Jerod Mayo said |K| after the game that |L| Brissett was only going |M| to play a series |O| or two in the |P| game regardless. While he |Q| didnt have a specific |R| diagnosis, Mayo sounded confident |S| that Brissett had avoided |U| any major injury. And, |V| had it been a |Y| regular season game, Mayo |Z| said that Brissett would |A| have been able to |B| keep going.

Maye shows |C| off arm, athleticism on |D| first drive

Mayes first |E| drive was his most |F| impressive showing of the |G| preseason. Facing third-and-14 inside |H| New Englands 10-yard line |J| after a sack, Maye |K| found a crease at |L| the line of scrimmage |M| and broke free for |O| a 17-yard scramble through |P| a Commanders defense playing |Q| to stop a deep |R| pass.

Two plays later, |S| Maye showed off his |U| arm. On second-and-2 from |V| the New England 33-yard-line, |Y| Maye found fellow rookie |Z| JaLynn Polk on a |A| play-action pass downfield out |B| of the reach of |C| Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. |D| The play went for |E| 29 yards and a |F| first down.

A |G| second-round pick in April, |H| Polk projects as one |J| of Mayes top targets |K| whenever he does take |L| over New Englands offense.

|M| dir="ltr">Maye went on to |O| complete three more passes |P| on the drive that |Q| ended with a swing |R| pass to running back |S| Kevin Harris for an |U| 18-yard touchdown.

Maye |V| finished the drive completing |Y| 5-of-6 passes for 71 |Z| yards and the score |A| in addition to his |B| 17-yard scramble.

Deep Maye |C| TD called back because |D| of penalty

Maye went |E| on to finish the |F| first half for New |G| England. The Patriots didnt |H| score again, but Maye |J| further flashed his upside |K| with a deep touchdown |L| that was nullified by |M| a penalty when given |O| a chance in the |P| two-minute drill.

Facing second-and-10 |Q| at the Washington 48-yard |R| line, Maye escaped pressure |S| and scrambled to his |U| left before launching a |V| deep downfield pass to |Y| K.J. Osborn, who was |Z| wide open near the |A| sideline at the 10-yard |B| line. Osbrone then ran |C| it in for a |D| would-be touchdown.

But an |E| illegal formation penalty on |F| left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor |G| nullified the play. The |H| penalty was indicative of |J| an offensive line that |K| struggled throughout the first |L| half against Washingtons backups.

|M| dir="ltr">Maye finished the first |O| half completing 13-of-20 passes |P| for 126 yards (6.3 |Q| yards per attempt) with |R| a touchdown and no |S| turnovers. He added 17 |U| yards on the ground. |V| He did not return |Y| for the start of |Z| the second half.

Again, |A| Maye wasnt facing NFL |B| starters on defense. But |C| the effort was certainly |D| a confidence booster for |E| a rookie quarterback fresh |F| out of training camp.

|G| dir="ltr">Bailey Zappe and Joe |H| Milton finished out the |J| rest of the game |K| at quarterback for the |L| Patriots. The Commanders, behind |M| a 17-point fourth quarter |O| that included touchdowns from |P| Michael Wiley and Martavis |Q| Bryant, pushed ahead to |R| grab the 20-10 win.

|S| dir="ltr">Who will be New |U| Englands starting QB in |V| Week 1?

The question |Y| now becomes: who will |Z| start in Week 1 |A| against the Cincinnati Bengals? |B| Maye — the No. |C| 3 pick in Aprils |D| draft — is the |E| clear starter of the |F| future. But theres a |G| strong case to keep |H| him on the bench |J| early in his career.

|K| dir="ltr">Early reports out of |L| training camp were that |M| Maye was raw and |O| could benefit from seasoning |P| on the sideline. And |Q| theres no hurry in |R| New England. This Patriots |S| team is not built |U| to win now and |V| doesnt project to come |Y| close to contention in |Z| the AFC East. Its |A| an ideal situation to |B| ease a young quarterback |C| into his new role |D| — especially with a |E| seasoned veteran and capable |F| starter in Brissett on |G| the roster.

Maye has |H| taken steps forward since |J| the start of camp, |K| including Sundays game and |L| in a Week 2 |M| preseason effort against the |O| Philadelphia Eagles that drew |P| praise from Mayo.

"He |Q| definitely took a step |R| forward," Mayo said after |S| the Eagles game. "The |U| competition isnt over. Theyre |V| still going to go |Y| out there, and they |Z| have to show not |A| only themselves and their |B| coaches but also their |C| teammates. So, its definitely |D| still a competition."

Of |E| course if Brissett is |F| genuinely injured, that changes |G| the calculus on Mayos |H| decision. The preseason is |J| over, and the Patriots |K| will have two weeks |L| off from competition before |M| their Sept. 8 season |O| opener — a span |P| in which Mayo will |Q| name a starting quarterback. |R| Mayo called Maye the |S| "second-best quarterback" on their |U| roster right now after |V| Sundays game, which gives |Y| a clear idea of |Z| where hes headed.

The |A| question in the meantime |B| isnt so much whether |C| or not Maye has |D| earned the starting job |E| — but whether he |F| should start this early |G| in his career or |H| spend more time developing |J| from the bench.

|K|