Drake Maye flashes upside in Patriots' preseason finale after Jacoby Brissett leaves with shoulder injury

With New England's quarterback competition still ongoing, Jacoby Brissett got banged up and Drake Maye flashed his upside in the Patriots' preseason finale against the Washington Commanders Sunday on night.

Brissett got the start against Washington's backups and sustained what the Patriots announced was a right shoulder injury on New England's first drive of the game. Commanders defensive end K.J. Henry ran through the New England backfield untouched and sacked Brissett, driving his body into the turf.

Brissett grimaced after the hit but remained in the game to complete the drive. He threw two more passes before a Patriots punt. When New England's offense took the field next, Maye was at quarterback.

How serious is Brissett's injury?

Cameras, meanwhile, caught Brissett clutching his shoulder on the sideline, but it wasn't clear how much the decision had to do with injury. Head coach Jerod Mayo said prior to the game that Brissett was only expected to play a series or two.

The Patriots eventually announced in the second quarter that Brissett sustained a right shoulder injury. He was officially listed as questionable to return, and he remained in pads on the sideline the rest of the way, but his night was clearly done.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said after the game that Brissett was only going to play a series or two in the game regardless. While he didn’t have a specific diagnosis, Mayo sounded confident that Brissett had avoided any major injury. And, had it been a regular season game, Mayo said that Brissett would have been able to keep going.

Maye shows off arm, athleticism on first drive

Maye's first drive was his most impressive showing of the preseason. Facing third-and-14 inside New England's 10-yard line after a sack, Maye found a crease at the line of scrimmage and broke free for a 17-yard scramble through a Commanders defense playing to stop a deep pass.

Two plays later, Maye showed off his arm. On second-and-2 from the New England 33-yard-line, Maye found fellow rookie Ja'Lynn Polk on a play-action pass downfield out of the reach of Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. The play went for 29 yards and a first down.

A second-round pick in April, Polk projects as one of Maye's top targets whenever he does take over New England's offense.

Maye went on to complete three more passes on the drive that ended with a swing pass to running back Kevin Harris for an 18-yard touchdown.

Maye finished the drive completing 5-of-6 passes for 71 yards and the score in addition to his 17-yard scramble.

Deep Maye TD called back because of penalty

Maye went on to finish the first half for New England. The Patriots didn't score again, but Maye further flashed his upside with a deep touchdown that was nullified by a penalty when given a chance in the two-minute drill.

Facing second-and-10 at the Washington 48-yard line, Maye escaped pressure and scrambled to his left before launching a deep downfield pass to K.J. Osborn, who was wide open near the sideline at the 10-yard line. Osborn then ran it in for a would-be touchdown.

But an illegal formation penalty on left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor nullified the play. The penalty was indicative of an offensive line that struggled throughout the first half against Washington's backups.

Maye finished the first half completing 13-of-20 passes for 126 yards (6.3 yards per attempt) with a touchdown and no turnovers. He added 17 yards on the ground. He did not return for the start of the second half.

Again, Maye wasn't facing NFL starters on defense. But the effort was certainly a confidence booster for a rookie quarterback fresh out of training camp.

Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton finished out the rest of the game for the Patriots. The Commanders, behind a 17-point fourth quarter that included touchdowns from Michael Wiley and Martavis Bryant, pushed ahead to grab the 20-10 win.

Who will be New England's starting QB in Week 1?

The question now becomes: Who will start in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals? Maye — the No. 3 pick in April's draft — is the clear starter of the future. But there's a strong case to keep him on the bench early in his career.

Early reports out of training camp were that Maye was raw and could benefit from seasoning on the sideline. And there's no hurry in New England. This Patriots team is not built to win now and doesn't project to come close to contention in the AFC East. It's an ideal situation to ease a young quarterback into his new role — especially with a seasoned veteran and capable starter in Brissett on the roster.

Maye has taken steps forward since the start of camp, including Sunday's game and in a Week 2 preseason effort against the Philadelphia Eagles that drew praise from Mayo.

Of course if Brissett is genuinely injured, that changes the calculus on Mayo's decision. The preseason is over, and the Patriots will have two weeks off from competition before their Sept. 8 season opener — a span in which Mayo will name a starting quarterback. Mayo called Maye the "second-best quarterback" on their roster right now after Sunday's game, which gives a clear idea of where he's headed.

The question in the meantime isn't so much whether or not Maye has earned the starting job — but whether he should start this early in his career or spend more time developing from the bench.