Instant analysis of the preseason finale in Washington

The Patriots are a disaster on offense, especially on the line. Forget the fact that they’re not ready for prime time. They’re barely ready for the preseason.

While Maye’s performance will grab the headlines, with a series of impressive passes and decisions that led to an 88-yard touchdown, the real problem is the dysfunction of the offensive line. You could practically hear the Benny Hill theme song playing as the Patriots linemen tripped over themselves.

The offensive line committed eight penalties in the first half. There was a foul on a play-action pass, which led to Brissett taking a free throw and injuring his shoulder. There were low snaps from the backup center. The left tackle was so worried about getting beat that he was penalized three times for lining up too far in the backfield, and probably could have been penalized for a few false starts.

It’s not like the Patriots are playing Legion of Boom defense. They’ve struggled against the Commanders’ backups. It’s gotten so bad that NBC’s Cris Collinsworth wondered if the Patriots might want to take Maye out of the game to avoid injury.

Sure enough, Maye got up after one hit, shaking his throwing hand.

“They succeed in spite of themselves,” Collinsworth said.

Maye has shown everything you want to see from a rookie quarterback in these last two preseason games, but the team in front of him isn’t ready.

Head coach Jerod Mayo seemed to understand that. After the game, he said that “the best players are going to play,” but then called Maye “the second-best quarterback.”

Few will agree with Mayo on this, but the slow approach is the right approach. The goal of the 2024 season isn’t to have Mayo start in Week 1. It’s to give him a good experience, get him through the year healthy, and prepare him to take over in 2025. If Mayo starts 12 games this year, it’ll still be a positive season.

There’s no rush to put Maye on the field with the offensive line in its current state. You run the risk of turning him into David Carr, who had 72 sacks as a rookie and never recovered from his shock. Or you risk Maye becoming Anthony Richardson, spending most of his rookie season rehabbing instead of playing.

Maye can play, but that doesn’t mean he should play. Patrick Mahomes could have played as a rookie, but the Chiefs stuck to their plan.

Let Brissett start the season, then play his way out of that position. Remember what Bill Belichick always said, that the first month of the regular season is just an extension of the preseason? The Patriots should use that time to figure out their offensive line before turning to Maye. Let Brissett take the hits; that’s one of the reasons they signed him.

This season is all about Maye’s development. It’s not about making Maye the Week 1 starter. The Patriots are in too much trouble to take that risk.

▪ Of course, Brissett’s health could influence the Patriots’ decision for them. Brissett injured his shoulder on his first-quarter sack, visibly wincing as he stood up. It’s probably the worst outcome for a coach playing his starters in the final preseason game. (The Patriots were one of nine to play their starters this weekend.)

Brissett did not receive any medical treatment on the sidelines, but the injury is worth monitoring because it could force the Patriots to turn to Maye in Week 1 whether they like it or not.

▪ We spent most of training camp looking closely at the quarterback scheme, but maybe we should have spent more time testing it on the field. They shuffled their players around for six weeks, and the unit they put together for Sunday night’s game was a disaster, especially at left tackle.

David Andrews’ return for the regular season should likely correct some of his poor snaps and blocks. But the Patriots’ constant shuffling on the offensive line caught up with them against the Commanders.

In the sack that injured Brissett’s shoulder, left guard Sidy Sow first collided with right guard Layden Robinson and then the running back, leaving the Commanders defender wide open for a free throw. Later in the first half, running back JaMycal Hasty was left in the backfield for a loss after Robinson, a rookie fourth-round pick, was slow to drop back.

The offensive line was also penalized with four formation penalties, three holds and a false start in the first half. The biggest culprit was left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, who was penalized three times for formation — lining up too far in the backfield. A strict right tackle for his first five NFL seasons, Okorafor is clearly uncomfortable on the left side.

The situation seemed curious this offseason when the Patriots signed Okorafor and selected Caedan Wallace, two right tackles, to replace the left side. After Sunday night, the situation looks even worse.

Mayo and Eliot Wolf have stressed that training camp is about finding the right five players on the offensive line, but they don’t appear close to having those answers.

▪ As for Maye, it’s hard not to be impressed. He came on the second series and promptly led the Patriots 88 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown — a drive that actually went 96 yards because of a fumbled snap on the first play.

Maye completed 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown, showing all the traits that made him the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. He had his two best throws of the preseason on Sunday: a 29-yard pass to Ja’Lynn Polk after stepping forward and avoiding a screaming pass rusher on the left side; and a 48-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn that was taken off the board due to a penalty but was an impressive deep strike by Maye while rolling left and throwing against his body.

That throw alone should have Patriots fans excited. Mac Jones certainly didn’t have the athleticism or arm strength to throw downfield against his body. But Maye also had a 17-yard run on third-and-14, plus a nice 16-yard pass to DeMario Douglas on third-and-8.

It’s important to keep in mind that Maye was facing a base defense of the Commanders’ backups. Still, Maye looks healthy. He’s not the problem, everyone around him is.

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You can contact Ben Volin at [email protected].