Here’s some clam chowder for thought: Since the Fail Mary game between Aaron Rodgers and rookie Russell Wilson in 2012, NFL teams had been 220-0 when they had zero turnovers and held an opponent below 250 total yards. Now, after New England’s 25-22 win on Sunday, the Patriots are 1-0 and the Jets 0-1 in such games.
Credit the Patriots, though. Despite just 248 yards of offense, they needed clutch, fourth-quarter execution with zero margin for error to beat Rodgers and the Jets, and they got it. They got it from now-backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
After Drake Maye left with a concussion, Kayshon Boutte made a diving 34-yard catch completion, threaded through three defenders by Brissett. When an incompletion would’ve all but ended the game, Brissett’s pass instead set up Rhamondre Stevenson’s game-winning touchdown run. It also ended the Patriots’ six-game losing streak, their longest in 31 years.
Head coach Jerod Mayo said Monday he was proud of the Patriots (2-6) and also surprised when athletic trainer Jim Whelan told him Maye was out after a first-half hit, since the rookie stayed in the game.
“I was surprised when Jim told me he had to go to the medical tent,” Mayo said, “because he threw a couple of good balls afterward, and I thought he was still pretty sharp in those regards. But obviously, it’s above my pay grade as far as pulling him out of the game and putting him in the protocol.”
And in the protocol Maye will remain, Mayo said, until the quarterback can clear it. The coach said he had no updates regarding his rookie’s status for New England’s game at Tennessee (1-6) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX).
Still, Sunday’s victory goes in the books as Maye’s first NFL win. He’s now 53 of 84 (63.1 percent) for 564 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in four games, including a 1-2 record in three starts. He’s also averaged 8.8 yards on the ground, with 114 yards on 13 carries. He put the Patriots on the board against the Jets with his first NFL rushing touchdown, a 17-yard scramble on Sunday.
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