Patriots' Week 4 preview: End of the Jacoby Brissett era

Thank you for your dedication and service, Jacoby Brissett. You served Patriot Nation well. You fulfilled your duties. You took hard hits and you kept getting up. You showed what it means to be a leader and a warrior on the field. You showed how to take accountability and not point fingers. You showed how to stand strong in the pocket under duress. You showed the importance of protecting the ball and not turning it over to the other team, needlessly. You showed a young rookie quarterback what it means to be in the NFL.

But the time has come. The time has come to let The Kid take the keys. 

The decision to sit Maye looked genius after Week 1 when the other members of the 2024 NFL quarterback draft class struggled. Caleb Williams only passed for 93 yards in his debut. Bo Nix threw two interceptions and only had 138 yards passing on 42 attempts in a loss. Jayden Daniels… well, he just isn’t human, but even he was held to under 200 yards passing in his first game.

Beyond quarterbacks, there were many fans who wanted the Patriots to draft Marvin Harrison, Jr., but even he was held to only one reception in his debut.

Three weeks later and these rookies are beginning to make significant contributions to their teams. They have already begun showing signs of adjusting to the NFL. 

Caleb Williams threw for 363 yards last week. 

Bo Nix led his team to a big road win in Tampa Bay. 

Jayden Daniels looks like a seasoned vet, completing over 80% of his passes this season, including a picture-perfect deep touchdown pass on Monday night.

Harrison Jr. has three touchdowns in the last two weeks. 

Even with a mediocre quarterback throwing him the football, Malik Nabers is breaking rookie wide receiver records with the Giants through three games. 

Brock Bowers has close to 200 yards receiving with the Raiders. 

Brian Thomas has been the lone bright spot in Jacksonville. 

KC's Xavier Worthy had an electrifying debut on prime time national TV in the season opener – showing off his explosive speed on a touchdown run. 

Keon Coleman caught a long touchdown pass from Josh Allen this past Monday night for Buffalo.

Don’t think Drake Maye isn’t taking notice. Fans are noticing. I’m noticing. It is time for the NFL’s third pick overall to get on the field.

Maye did make his debut at the end of the NY Jets debacle last Thursday night. He got a rude welcome to the NFL when he was body slammed to the turf by Jets Jamien Sherwood.

Maye did lead the team close to the goal line in the final moments of their 24-7 loss to the Jets. Coach Mayo let the final twenty seconds run out after Maye was sacked at the Jets’ 12-yard line. I would have liked to have seen Maye given a chance to finish the drive with his first NFL touchdown pass, but the Patriots kept to their habit of babying Maye.

I was fine with the whole being patient with Maye thing. I was on board with sitting him for the first few games. I was eying the Jacksonville game in mid-October for Maye’s debut. With Tua’s unfortunate injury in Miami, I have moved up the timeline.

It has nothing to do with the record or the Patriots having lost the last two games. Brissett has done nothing wrong. If he is guilty of anything, it is of being too conservative. It is nice that Brissett hasn’t thrown any interceptions, but the flip side is he is not taking any chances. He is not trying to throw the ball deep or to the sidelines. He is holding onto the ball too long and taking sacks.

But we are not here to scout Brissett. We know what he is. The critical thing is to find a spot for Maye to have a chance to succeed and to continue to progress. This week on the road against Nick Bosa and San Francisco, certainly, isn’t it. 

But next week against a suddenly inept Miami team in Foxboro to kick off a four game home stand which includes Houston, Jacksonville, and ends with a rematch with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.. It sounds almost too perfect for me.

Let Maye get his first action in front of a supportive crowd. Let him get a couple of wins under his belt. Then, test his progress in the previous three games against the quarterback he called the GOAT. We'll let that one slide for now.

So let’s let Jacoby Brissett enjoy his moment. He earned his $8 million. It was money well spent.

San Francisco comes into this game having blown a 14-point second half lead to the shorthanded LA Rams. The defending NFC champions have a disappointing 1-2 record. The whole Brandon Aiyuk “will they trade him or not” debate was a distraction in the preseason. Newlywed star running back Christian McCaffrey is sidelined indefinitely with an Achilles injury. Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are questionable to play Sunday with nagging injuries. They have injuries on the defensive side as well.

It won’t matter. 

Even with all those injuries, the 49ers are still more talented than the Patriots. Coach Kyle Shanahan just keeps finding players. With all the injuries on offense, seventh-round pick Jauan Jennings just steps in and all he does is go off for three touchdowns, 11 catches, and 175 yards against the Rams. Jennings is far and way better than anything the Patriots have… and he is San Francisco's fifth option when everyone is healthy.

Don’t be surprised to see Maye enter the game again in garbage time of a blowout. The Patriots are ten-point underdogs and I don’t think that is nearly enough.

Prediction: San Francisco 30, New England 10