Patriots coach Jerod Mayo says Jacoby Brissett still starting QB

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo is sticking with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.

“Everything’s always under evaluation,” Mayo said Friday morning, a day after Brissett was pulled from a 24-3 loss to the New York Jets in favor of first-round draft pick Drake Maye. “Just so I’m clear: Jacoby is still our starting quarterback until I say he’s not.”

Brissett got hit, harassed and frustrated all night by the New York Jets’ swarming defense before Maye came in for his NFL debut. Afterward, Mayo said “I don't know” who’ll be under center for New England (1-2) moving forward.

“We talk every single week that you’re competing for a job," Mayo said after the game. "We’ll get together as a coaching staff and see where it goes.”

About 12 hours later, Mayo said he would stick with the 31-year-old veteran.

“Right now, I would say it’s still status quo,” the coach said in a call with reporters. “I said it earlier: Jacoby’s still our starting quarterback, and we’ve got to be ready to support him. There are 11 guys out there on offense, so it’s everyone. So to answer your question, that’s under consideration at this time.”

Even if he starts against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 29, Brissett is still a placeholder for Maye, who was taken No. 3 overall in the draft.

“I don’t make personnel decisions,” Brissett said. “My job is to go out there and get ready to play.”

When asked what he thought about Mayo saying he was unsure whether he might make a quarterback change, Brissett refused to fuel any speculation.

“I’m not going to overreact to something I didn’t hear,” he said. “He told me he was going in. I’m not going to argue.”

Brissett was 12 of 18 for just 98 yards and sacked five times before being pulled with 4:24 left in the game.

“I’m a big man. I can take it,” Brissett said of all the hits he took. “I always get back up. Finding ways to make plays, that’s what it comes down to. It’s football. You’re supposed to get hit. You don’t sign up for this sport to not get hit.”

Maye came in and moved the Patriots' offense down the field during their final drive. The former North Carolina star went 4 for 8 for 22 yards and was sacked twice, with the last one ending the game.

“I thought it was a good opportunity for him to go out there with the (first-team offense) and put a few drives together,” Mayo said. “We’ll watch the film and evaluate.”

Another thing for Mayo to consider is the state of the Patriots' banged-up offensive line.

Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe (knee) and left guard Sidy Sow (ankle) didn't play after both were ruled out earlier in the week. Center David Andrews (hip) and right tackle Mike Onwenu (wrist) played after being listed as questionable.

Against the Jets, left tackle Caedan Wallace — starting for Lowe — and left guard Michael Jordan — starting for Sow — didn't finish the game after being injured in the fourth quarter.

“I thought the offensive line today had a hard time,” Mayo said. “There were times early in the game when the pockets looked pretty clean. As the game went on, similar to last week (against Seattle), it started falling apart as far as the protection.”

New England was manhandled by the New York defense, and then Aaron Rodgers sliced through the Patriots for long drives throughout the night.

New York finished with 400 yards to New England’s 139 and had 27 first downs to the Patriots’ 11.

“It was bad. Bad in all phases,” Andrews said. “We didn’t play like how we wanted to play. They dictated what we wanted to do. Hats off to them. They had a good plan and played a lot better than we did tonight.”

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

Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press