Patriots not ready to turn to Drake Maye yet

Jacoby Brissett is not the problem. Drake Maye is not the solution.

The New England Patriots will spend at least one more week with veteran Brissett as their starting quarterback before handing over to Maye, the first-round draft pick and recognized quarterback of the future.

“It’s still the status quo,” Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said Friday, a day after the team’s 24-3 loss to the New York Jets. “Jacoby is still our starting quarterback and we have to be ready to support him. There’s 11 guys on the field on offense, so everybody has to go.”

After a surprisingly good start to the season — beating Cincinnati and going to overtime against Seattle — the Patriots were defeated Thursday night in their AFC East opener by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. Brissett completed 12 of 18 passes for 98 yards and was tackled five times, limping after one of the 10 hits he took.

“It’s football. I’m supposed to get hit. I didn’t choose this game to not get hit, so I don’t really pay attention to it,” Brissett said after spending most of the game trying to avoid a Jets offense that overwhelmed the Patriots’ injury-riddled offensive line.

“These guys are fighting like crazy, man. And I take my hat off to them,” Brissett said. “It’s not an easy job. Honestly, I don’t want this job. But I respect these guys for being out there and giving it their best shot, and that’s all you can ask, man. It’s just, give it your best shot. I’m going to give it my best shot and at the end of the day, we’ll see where we stand.”

Brissett was pulled in the final five minutes and replaced by Maye, who completed 4 of 8 passes for 22 yards in his NFL debut but was sacked twice in his only series on the field — including once to end the game.

Mayo said he considered keeping the rookie off the field to protect him. “But at the same time, I thought it was too good an opportunity for him to get out there and get some experience,” the coach said.

WHAT WORKS

It’s not great when the kicker is the star, but Bryce Baringer’s five punts averaged 49 yards, and three came inside the Jets’ 20-yard line.

WHAT NEEDS HELP

The offensive line held up through the first two games, but it all fell apart Thursday night. The seven sacks were the most the team has allowed since Scott Zolak and Hugh Millen were picked off eight times by Ted Marchibroda’s Indianapolis Colts in 1992.

“It was bad across the board,” center David Andrews said. “We couldn’t really get into a rhythm, and some things we thought would work didn’t work, we didn’t execute them well enough.”

STORE

Team position in 2025 draft. The odds that the Patriots finish with the worst record in the NFL are 11-1, fourth-lowest in the league.

SHARES DROPPED

RB Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games. He also fumbled the ball in each, but the Patriots recovered the ball in both.

On Thursday night, he committed the team’s first turnover of the season and rushed for just 23 yards on six carries.

INJURIES

The offensive line is in shambles. Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe (knee) and left guard Sidy Sow (ankle) did not play. Backup left tackle Caedan Wallace and left guard Michael Jordan both left the game with injuries in the fourth quarter. Andrews (hip) and right tackle Mike Onwenu (wrist) played after being listed as doubtful.

KEY NUMBER

139 — The second-fewest yards for the Patriots in any game since the start of the 1993 season, behind only the 119 against the Jets in Week 18 of last year.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Patriots travel to San Francisco on September 29.

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