AP Photo/Charles Krupa
FOXBOROUGH- A late rally by the Philadelphia Eagles stunned the Patriots, as they lost their second preseason game of the season, 14-13. The story of course was rookie quarterback Drake Maye who played a quarter and a half and played well in his first extensive action of the season. Maye completed 6-of-11 passes for 47 yards. He had four carries for 15 yards and a rushing touchdown. All four quarterbacks played but the story on this night was Maye.
Here are seven points on tonight’s game.
1.Maye Day: Patriots fans finally got their Drake Maye fix as the rookie quarterback played a quarter and a half and gave the offense a spark. He extend his first drive by drilling a dig route to Javon Baker for 12 yards and a first down. The drive stalled but Maye looked confident and comfortable. After being awarded a short, Maye capitalized driving the offense down the field and capping the drive with a 4 yard touchdown run on a zone read to give the Patriots a 10-3 lead at the half. The Patriots planned on playing him more this week and the decision paid off. Maye still has plenty to work but he is getting better.
2. Brissett with a night to forget: Jacoby Brissett on the other hand had a night to forget. He finished 3-of-7 for 14 yards and interception in his season debut. Brissett has run hot and cold thus far in training camp and you saw that tonight. Based on his performance in this game, he probably should play next week. It will be interesting if he does.
3. Run game featured but leaves a lot to be desired: Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt made a concerted effort to run the football tonight. Collectively, the Patriots rushed for 69 yards on 22 carries. While it was not impressive by any means, it shows that the Patriots are going to commit to the run and be patient with it.
4. Defense played well despite facing back ups: The defense played well in this game despite the fact that they were going up against Philadelphia’s second and third team offense for the entire game. It was abundantly obvious early on that this was going to be a low scoring affair. The starting defense did their job. Unfortunately, the third unit could not keep the Eagles out of the end zone and the Patriots ended up losing.
5. Uche plays most of the game: True to his word, Jerod Mayo said earlier this week that he would play any veteran that got into a fight for the majority of the game. Uche was the primary participant in Tuesday’s mini scuffle during a special teams period. As a result, he played three quarters and Mayo made his point. It was important that Mayo does that. He stuck to his guns and reiterated his expectations. I am sure Uche got the message.
6. AVP called the right game for the kid: I would be remiss if I didn’t single out Alex Van Pelt for the job he did tonight calling the game for Drake Maye. I thought he did a fantastic job of blending personnel groupings and formations and making the rookie quarterback feel comfortable. He called three step and five step concepts, moved the pocket and went empty with Maye. The capper was the zone read touchdown run. Great call!! It is easy to say he ran stuff that Maye ran in college but that’s not it. He ran stuff that played to Maye’s strength’s
7. Mayo addresses Judon trade: Mayo was about the Matthew Judon trade and he was right to the point.
“You guys know how I feel about Judon. And obviously he’s moving on. I felt like it’s a win-win for both parties and I wish him nothing but the best. I always tell the guys these are long-term relationships and nothing’s changed.”
It is interesting that Mayo called it a “win-win” for both teams. It seems to like the organization had made it’s mind up to move a while back.