Rookie Drake Maye scored a touchdown and led the New England Patriots on two of their three scoring drives during a 14-13 preseason loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.
The No. 3 overall draft pick from North Carolina played the second and third quarters after appearing in only one series in the Patriots’ first preseason game. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 47 yards.
“Had some good things and had some bad plays. Definitely a lot of things to learn from,” Maye said. “It was good to go out there and have some tape to learn from.”
Joey Slye, who is competing with Chad Ryland for the starting kicking job, made two field goals for New England. The Patriots (1-1) had 11 first downs, but only four came in the last two quarters.
New England was ahead 13-6 in the fourth quarter when the Eagles made a comeback. Rookie running back Kendall Milton scored on a 1-yard run, and Tanner McGee connected with Ainias Smith for the go-ahead 2-point conversion.
Jake Elliott also kicked two field goals for Philadelphia (2-0).
Patriots’ projected Week 1 starter Jacoby Brissett had a disappointing performance in his quarter of play before being replaced by Maye. The Patriots went three-and-out on their first possession and Brissett was intercepted by Philadelphia’s Avonte Maddox in the end zone during their second drive.
Brissett finished with 3 completions on 7 attempts for 17 yards before Maye took over.
Maye received a warm welcome from the small crowd at Gillette Stadium when he entered the game at the start of the second quarter. He further impressed the fans with a 12-yard pass to fellow rookie Javon Baker on third down, which helped New England tie the score at 3 after Slye’s 51-yard field goal.
Maye added a 4-yard touchdown run on the first play after the two-minute warning, giving New England a 10-3 lead going into halftime.
“He showed great composure,” said Patriots rookie head coach Jerod Mayo. “I thought it was a good drive. He did a lot of good things out there. Hopefully, he can build on that, and we’ll see how this week goes.”
Maye’s third quarter started off poorly when he fumbled the snap, but the Patriots recovered the ball. New England only had one third down in that quarter, which was due to a defensive pass interference penalty.
“Dropped snaps are inexcusable for me,” Maye said.
Philadelphia decided to rest starting quarterback Jalen Hurts for the second straight preseason game. Backup Kenny Pickett played the entire first half, completing 11 of 13 passes but for just 67 yards.
“Just taking the completions that are there and trying to move the offense,” Pickett said. “Those big plays will come sooner rather than later.”
The Eagles scored their only points in the first half with a 42-yard field goal by Jake Elliott, who later added a 38-yarder in the fourth quarter.
New England put in Bailey Zappe with 2:25 left after rookie Joe Milton III went 2 of 7 for 20 yards and couldn’t get a first down on the drive after the Eagles took the lead with 4:23 remaining. Zappe’s attempt at a comeback ended when a bad snap was recovered by Philadelphia, which then ran out the remaining 1:47.
McGee started the second half for the Eagles and finished 15 of 19 for 140 yards. Will Grier, who was on New England’s practice squad last season, completed 3 of 5 passes for 35 yards. Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni put McGee back in the game during the fourth quarter.
“Coach told us that was going to be the game plan before the game, and the coaches communicated it well,” McGee said. “I was just ready to roll whenever they called me.”
