Drake Maye completed 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown for New England in the Patriots' 20-10 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday night in the preseason finale.
Maye, the rookie from North Carolina battling Jacoby Brissett for the starting job, made a good case, while the offensive line made it clear why first-year coach Jerod Mayo might not want to throw him in right away.
Brissett started the first series, and was sacked hard by defensive lineman K.J. Henry. Brissett finished the series, but left after that and the Patriots listed him as having a right shoulder injury.
Mayo said that Brissett would have been able to continue playing had it been a regular-season game, and he will be evaluated again Monday.
Maye then finished the first half, throwing an 18-yard scoring pass to Kevin Harris. The Patriots finished the preseason 1-2.
Mayo seemed to tip his hand on the upcoming quarterback decision when asked if he would allow Maye to back up Brissett if Brissett wins the starting job.
“I would like to sit here and say 100%, he's our second-best quarterback on our roster right now,” Mayo said about Maye. “I'm not sure until I watch the film.”
Maye got little help from his offensive line, which was flagged eight times in the first half for false start, holding or illegal formation. At one point, Maye's shoe flew off because he was stepped on so hard by left guard Sidy Sow. Brissett's injury came on a play where two blockers ran into each other.
That could influence Mayo's decision, particularly given that Washington did not play any of its starters on either side of the ball. Maye said he's up for a Week 1 start if called upon.
“I think I'm ready for whatever this football team asks of me,” said Maye, the No. 3 overall draft pick.
Mayo said he was unhappy with the “undisciplined football” the line played, and added that the team will be aggressive in improving over the next week.
“Our job is to always look for better players," Mayo said. "We'll be very active on the waiver wire. There will be some good football players out there on the street, and we'll try to get this team better.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn, meanwhile, was content to run out the clock on the preseason, with quarterback Jayden Daniels among the 34 players sitting out Sunday.
Martavis Bryant caught a touchdown pass with 3:06 left to seal the victory for the Commanders (1-2).
D-line intrigue
The Commanders will have tough decisions to make at defensive tackle, particularly after a pair of strong performances against the Patriots.
Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne will be the starters, and rookie Johnny Newton is assured of a spot. On Sunday night, Phidarian Mathis and John Ridgeway both made strong final statements in the push to make the 53-man roster when it is announced Tuesday.
“I really felt his energy,” Quinn said about Mathis. "The guys did, too. So it was really cool to see him. We’ve had good conversations with he and some of the other guys about specifically what we’re looking for.
“Certainly (we'll) go look at the tape but it was cool to see. I thought John had a couple big hits. The big guys were really pushing inside.”
Getting their kicks
New England kicker Joey Slye returned to Washington, where he played last year, and was allowed to try a 64-yard field goal just before halftime, which fell short, and a 60-yarder at the end of the game, which he missed left.
Sunday marked the first preseason action for Washington kicker Cade York, who was acquired in a trade with Cleveland earlier in the week. York was 2 for 2, from 34 and 33 yards.
Quinn said he deliberately passed up fourth-down attempts to give York some practice.
“In this one we were really wanted to make sure he had some chances to hit his kicks if those moments were there, so that’s what we did,” Quinn said.
Up next
Patriots: Open the regular season at Cincinnati on Sept. 8.
Commanders: Open the regular season at Tampa Bay on Sept. 8.
