Jerod Mayo Doubles Down On Jacoby Brissett’s ‘Grit’ As Patriots Starter
No quarterback change is in the immediate future for the 1-2 New England Patriots.
Team captain Jacoby Brissett will remain the starter under center until his head coach announces otherwise.
"Jacoby is our quarterback until I say he's not the quarterback," Jerod Mayo told reporters during his Friday video conference . "I thought last night he showed a lot of toughness, a lot of grit. You know, on protection breakdowns, he tried to do what we asked him to do. But I would say just as a team, as a coaching staff, we just got to be better."
In what became a 24-3 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, Brissett completed 12-of-18 passes for 98 yards with no touchdowns nor turnovers. A long of 22 arrived out of play action after halftime. But there was more to the story than the lack of downfield throws. There was the lack of a pocket to stand in and make them with eyes downfield.
The 31-year-old quarterback was sacked five times behind an offensive line that started rookie Caedan Wallace at left tackle, 53-man promotion Michael Jordan at left guard, captain David Andrews at center, rookie Layden Robinson at right guard and converted interior blocker Mike Onwenu at right tackle.
"I believe we can correct the problems internally," Mayo said of New England's pass protection. "It comes down to details, and we were not sharp on our details as a unit. And that's what the offensive line is. It's not just one person — it's a unit. Being able to see the picture out of the same set of goggles, and we just didn't do that last night. But I do think it's correctable."
Brissett was blitzed on 40% of his dropbacks, according to NFL Next Gen Stats , while Pro Football Focus charted the home defense for amassing a dozen quarterback pressures against the No. 91 overall pick in the 2016 draft.
It made for a difficult evaluation.
Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe had been ruled out ahead of the AFC East opener due to a knee injury. Starting left guard Sidy Sow also did not make the road trip due to a preseason ankle injury. And Cole Strange, who has started all 27 of his appearances since arriving in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, remains on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from a torn patellar tendon.
"We had some young guys out there," Mayo added. "They showed a few different looks that maybe caused some confusion, but just the communication as a whole has to be better. I still have faith in those guys to get the job done. We just got to be very intentional about the way we approach the game and the way we adjust in-game."
Backup quarterback Drake Maye made his NFL debut with 4:24 remaining in the fourth quarter at the Meadowlands. The No. 3 overall pick out of North Carolina went 4-of-8 through the air for 22 yards.
He scrambled twice and was sacked twice, including down at the goal line as time expired. It marked the seventh sack of the night for a Jets defense that entered with as many on the campaign.
"He has athleticism. He can make all the throws," Mayo said of the 22-year-old Maye. "Coming of the bench at that time is always tough no matter what position, but especially at the quarterback position. I thought he did handle himself well and tried to put a drive together. It's something to build off of. I thought it was a good opportunity for him to go out there and get some live reps."
But back in Foxborough, there are currently no plans to alter the 70-30 split of first-team practice reps.
"Right now, I would say it's still status quo," Mayo said. "And I kind of said it earlier — Jacoby's still our starting quarterback and we just got to be ready to support him. There are 11 guys out there on offense, so it's everyone."
The reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers host next week's 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday kickoff at Levi's Stadium.
