USATSI

The New England Patriots may have taken a few detours along the way, but ultimately arrived at the destination they plugged into the GPS when they began the offseason program. On Thursday, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo officially announced that veteran Jacoby Brissett will be the team's Week 1 starter when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals and begin the 2024 campaign. 

That decision leaves No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye serving as the QB2. It also is the conclusion to what was a late summer surge by the rookie. Over the last three-ish weeks there appeared to be real momentum building for him to possibly unseat Brissett for the Week 1 job. While Brissett has taken the lion's share of the first-team reps dating back to the spring, Maye's strong end to the summer applied pressure on the team to take a hard look at their situation under center. Mayo himself even told WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Monday that "Drake has outplayed Jacoby." And he's not wrong. 

Here's how the quarterbacks stacked up against one another this preseason. 


Completions/AttemptsCompletion PercentagePassing YardsTD-INTPasser rating

Jacoby Brissett

5/14

35.7%

36

0-1

14.6

Drake Maye

21/34

61.8%

192

1-0

86.9

Of course, there are the natural caveats that need to be thrown into those preseason numbers, and there's more context than the actual numbers. That said, just from the eye test, Maye's clearly the most talented quarterback on New England's roster, which is to be expected given his draft status. 

So, why hold him out? It's simple: Drake Maye is ready for the Patriots, but the Patriots are not ready for Drake Maye. 

If the situation around the quarterback was different, there's the possibility that Mayo's press conference on Thursday was a more monumental occasion.

Specifically, the offensive line for New England is a major question mark coming into the season and was likely a factor in the decision-making process. This summer, the line has been a key storyline due to a wide array of concerns regarding the talent on the depth chart and their ability to keep whoever is under center upright. Those concerns were only further fueled during the team's joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles where the presumptive starters on defense pummeled the projected starting five. 

That inconsistency bled into the preseason exhibitions, notably in the finale against Washington where 10 penalties were called up front. Miscommunication also led to a Commanders defender getting into the backfield untouched in the first quarter to lay Brissett out for a sack, injuring his shoulder in the process. 

With this being the reality of the offensive line, Mayo and the brass made the correct call to keep their beacon of the future, Drake Maye, out of the firing line. As crass as it may be, Brissett is in Foxborough to take those hits and play through the lumps that the offensive line is bound to go through, particularly with opponents like the Bengals (road), Seahawks, Jets (road) and 49ers (road) -- all teams with strong pass rushers -- on the docket within the first month. 

Tempting as it may be to kick off the Maye Era as he flashed his potential, patience is a virtue. Luckily, for the long-term growth of the franchise, Mayo and the rest of the staff were wise enough to realize that with their up-and-coming quarterback.