The New England Patriots showed in Week 2 why they are sticking with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback over first-round draft pick Drake Maye. Not because Brissett is moving the offense with his arm, or even his legs. But because it’s not yet safe for Maye to line up behind the Patriots’ offensive line.
Brissett was sacked three times and hit a handful of others in the 23-20 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. One left the caretaker quarterback favoring his shoulder, another twisted his knee. And the Patriots have invested too much in Maye — the No.
3 overall pick in the draft — to put the former North Carolina star at risk. “You never want your quarterback to get hit,” coach Jerod Mayo said. “We have to do a better job with our pass (protection) up front, and we have to keep him clean.
Because even when he’s not getting hit, or any quarterback, if they’re back there and they feel people around him, it always is going to affect you a little bit.” Although the Patriots came into the season with low expectations — they were the biggest underdog in the league in Week 1 — Brissett managed the offense well enough to come away with an upset of the Cincinnati Bengals . Mayo crowed that his offensive line had been unfairly maligned.
But the problems the blockers showed in the preseason — Brissett hurt his right shoulder in the finale against Washington — reappeared against the Seahawks. One key turning point came after Antonio Gibson broke free f.