New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo will probably be seeing yellow flags in his sleep after Sunday’s 20-10 preseason road loss to the Washington Commanders.
It was raining flags on the Patriots in a game where the team was called for 10 penalties.
Sure, some of the calls felt a bit ticky-tacky, particularly with some of the ones called on the Patriots’ offensive line. But it’s hard to even present that as a viable argument considering the offensive line has struggled throughout training camp and the preseason.
And Sunday’s showing against the Commanders might honestly have been the worst we’ve seen. The offensive line racked up penalties and struggled in pass protection when facing a Commanders defense mostly composed of backups. It was an absolute mess of a performance.
Chukwuma Okorafor drew multiple penalties, and Nick Leverett once again struggled snapping the ball. Rookie Layden Robinson also had issues with penalties. The miscommunication was so bad up front that quarterback Jacoby Brissett got flattened like a pancake in the first quarter.
Here’s the play that hurt Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett: pic.twitter.com/DcraKZpkjV
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 26, 2024
Brissett exited the game with a right shoulder injury and didn’t return.
Perhaps the only silver lining in the game was rookie Drake Maye, who once again showed signs of being a future franchise quarterback. He looked comfortable moving around in the pocket, avoiding defenders and delivering accurate throws to receivers.
He finished the game throwing 13-of-20 for 126 yards, one touchdown and a 99.2 passer rating.
Brissett’s injury will be worth monitoring over the next couple of weeks, as the team prepares for their Week 1 regular season matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Patriots could be forced into a position where they have to start Maye under center.
That might not necessarily be a bad thing considering he’s looked like the best quarterback on the team in the preseason games. However, he’d be getting thrown into the fire behind a makeshift offensive line and a bunch of unproven wide receiver weapons.
It’s a potentially disastrous situation that could either make or break a young quarterback.