On Sunday Night Football, the New England Patriots were handed a 20-10 defeat at the hands of the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field, as Jerod Mayo’s team finished the preseason with a 1-2 record.
Expected starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett got the start in this game, completing just one drive before a shoulder injury that was suffered on a sack forced him out. He finished his night completing just two of his four passes for 19 yards.
Drake Maye entered the game next, and the offense looked to gain an immediate spark. He led a touchdown-scoring drive on his first series, hitting running back Kevin Harris for an 18-yard catch-and-run. Maye had another touchdown pass that was nullified by one of many penalties by the offensive line. On the night, he completed 13 of his 20 attempts for 126 yards and the lone touchdown.
Joe Milton III played the third and most of the fourth quarter. He flashed his big arm on his first attempt, which resulted in an interception but was called back. The rookie wasn’t overly impressive in his opportunities, as he finished the game completing just five of his 17 attempts for 78 yards.
Bailey Zappe got in late the game late in the fourth quarter and just handed the ball off and spike for a last-second field goal attempt.
New England’s stable of backs was efficient, rushing for 4.7 yards per attempt.
Run blocking was the only positive from the offensive line, considering the unit was called for 10 penalties even though they weren’t all accepted. That’s horrendous and unacceptable, even if some were by backups. Backup center Nick Leverett, who started in place of David Andrews this week, and Maye also had multiple issues with the snap that resulted in dead plays.
The Patriots’ defense wasn’t really tested with Washington resting their starters, and a lot of New England’s depth didn’t look great. They were called for six penalties and allowed the Commanders to score 17 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters to Trace McSorley, who’s known more for a TikTok meme than being an NFL quarterback. The unit stopped the run well, allowing just 3.1 yards per carry.
In the kicking competition, Joey Slye missed both of his attempts from 60 and 64 yards while Chad Ryland made his lone field goal from 38 yards.
Mayo and company have a lot of decisions to make over the coming days, but for a team that played some starters against a team that didn’t, this performance wasn’t a good look.
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