Another poor passing day for the Patriots leads to more questions about when Drake Maye will start

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The passing game for the New England Patriots has yet to get off the ground this season behind veteran Jacoby Brissett.

Another inept performance through the air has only heightened the questions about when the Patriots will turn the offense over to hyped rookie Drake Maye.

Brissett failed to reach 200 yards passing for a fourth straight game, threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, lost a fumble and took six sacks in a 30-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday that was just the latest rough outing for New England's offense.

“I understand the product isn’t what we want right now,” Brissett said. “But we’re still in the process of figuring out how to make the best product. We can do that.”

It just hasn't happened yet and definitely didn't happen against a banged-up Niners defense that came in allowing the third-most yards per play in the NFL.

Rhamondre Stevenson lost a fumble for New England (1-3) on the second drive of the game — his fourth straight game with a fumble — and Brissett followed with a pick-6 to Fred Warner on the next possession that put the Patriots in a 13-0 hole they could never escape.

“We kind of really beat ourselves,” Brissett said. “We get it going, and then something happens. Honestly, we’re not good enough to hurt ourselves and the defense.”

The Patriots scored three times, with two coming on drives that started in San Francisco territory as the offense has been unable to generate long drives all season. New England's only TD the past two games came on a 27-yard drive following a fumbled kickoff.

New England ranks last in the NFL in total offense, passing offense and second-to-last in points per game with Brissett starting all four weeks.

The Patriots are scoring their fewest points per game through four games since Bill Belichick's first season as coach in 2000 and have their fewest yards per game at this point in the season since 1991.

New England has taken 17 sacks and is averaging the second-fewest yards per drop back (3.56) through four games in a season in the last 18 years.

The Niners were able to tee off on Brissett because the Patriots were forced into passing situations with the early deficit, contributing to the six sacks.

“No one wants to play from behind that far,” tight end Hunter Nenry said. “We’re on the road, the crowd gets going, it’s tough, it’s an uphill battle. I was proud of the way that we continued to battle. But in the end, we just can’t do that early in the game.”

Maye made his debut last week in mop-up duty in Week 3 against the New York Jets and first-year coach Jerod Mayo said he didn't consider making a switch again this week with the Patriots once again facing a big deficit.

But the calls will only grow louder with each rough week for the No. 3 overall pick to get his shot, even if the problems on offense run much deeper than quarterback with the offensive line struggling to protect and receivers unable to get open consistently.

“At this point, Jacoby is our starting quarterback,” Mayo said. “I haven’t watched any film or anything like that. He’s been a great leader. ... We’ve got to watch the film. We’ve got a long flight to go back and watch the film and we’re always evaluating every single position.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Josh Dubow, The Associated Press