And now we’re left to wonder what this means for the rest of the season. But please, if this is an indication that coach Jerod Mayo is ready to give his prized rookie more playing time, one look at the scoreboard — a 24-3 Jets victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the score would suggest — should put those thoughts to rest immediately.
Is there a quarterback controversy?
“I don’t know,” Mayo said. “We talk about it every week, you’re fighting for a job. We’ll sit down as a coaching staff and see where it goes.”
To which Brissett replied, “I mean, I don’t make personnel decisions.”
Maye shouldn’t have to go through what Brissett went through on Thursday. Five sacks, countless hits, no time to think, no time to throw.
Not that the experienced Brissett hasn’t tried. There he was, midway through the second quarter, fighting for his football life, this time caught by Chuck Clark, who came in on a safety blitz and sent the quarterback through a turnstile. Brissett refused to go down and fought to keep his legs upright long enough to hurl the ball sideways into the hands of running back Antonio Gibson.
But it was all in vain, as the referees had already blown their whistles, meaning Brissett’s advance was halted. The play instead ended in a 9-yard sack, and one of the Patriots’ most promising offensive attempts of the night stalled, ending in Joey Slye’s 44-yard field goal.
Those were the Patriots’ only points. The numbers were awful – 27 Jets first downs to 11 Patriots, 40:04 time of possession for New York to 19:56 for New England, 400 total net yards to 139 for the Patriots, 70 offensive plays to 48 for the Jets, one lost fumble to no Jets.
Brissett was at the helm for most of the game, but behind a porous offensive line that lacked strong pass receivers and a defense that missed tackles all night, he had no chance to make an impact. He has no chance of taking a hit week after week and will have to keep the pocket warm until it’s safe to give Maye, the highly paid rookie, third pick and eventual franchise quarterback, the full-time job.
For the experienced Brissett, the job was always about closing the gap on Maye and keeping the offense powerful enough to keep the team in the game. For two weeks, the plan worked pretty well, with a Week 1 upset at Cincinnati followed by the overtime home loss to Seattle, games in which Brissett didn’t do much statistically but more than demonstrated his toughness and intelligence. He held his ground. He moved the pocket. He ran when he needed to and found quick takers.
But after three weeks, the picture is getting uglier. The Patriots should not even consider keeping their high-profile young player in this mess. They should instead think about not using him as Brissett’s replacement. Because if there are too many more games like this, the 31-year-old migrant worker will have to give the ball to Maye – not by choice of the coaching staff, but by medical necessity. He gets beaten and beaten up in every game.
“You never want your quarterback to get hit,” Mayo acknowledged after the loss to Seattle. “We have to improve our pass-pro strategy in the forward defense and keep him clean, because even if he doesn’t get hit – or any quarterback – if they’re back there and they feel there are people around them, it’s always going to affect them a little bit.”
You think it can get any worse? Yuck.
Mayo can only hope that the rest of his Brissett analysis is better than the analysis of his offensive line.
“I’ve always said Jacoby is a great leader, he’s a fighter, but he’s also a very tough player mentally and physically,” Mayo said. “We’ll try to keep him clean going forward, but he wears shoulder pads like everyone else, so we’ll see how it goes.”
In other words, there is no cavalry on the move. This is what the Patriots’ offense looks like, and it is less effective than we thought.
While Brissett fights for his life, his counterpart is on the rise Thursday night. Aaron Rodgers, playing his first home game since tearing his Achilles a year ago just four plays into his first season with the Jets, played by far his best of three games this season. In some ways, the 40-year-old Rodgers is not unlike Brissett, having moved to a new team late in his career. But with his MVP, Super Bowl-winning arm and agile, nimble legs, his role is not to bridge a gap with a younger version of himself.
He’s here to win, and as he moved more comfortably on Thursday despite playing the third game in 11 days to start the season, he more than reminded the Patriots how different the two franchises’ stories are right now.
Tara Sullivan is a columnist at the Globe. You can reach her at [email protected]. Follow her @Globe_Tara.
