New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye made his NFL debut late in a 24-3 loss to the New York Jets on Thursday night.

The rookie completed 4 of 8 passes for 22 yards, two runs for 12 yards and was sacked twice. He took over the Patriots’ final drive with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter after starter Jacoby Brissett had completed just 12 of 18 passes for 98 yards and five sacks.

“I thought it was a good opportunity for (Drake) to go out with the ones and put some drives together, move the ball,” head coach Jerod Mayo said. “We’ll look at the film and evaluate it.”

Mayo did not want to rule out that the film analysis could possibly lead to a quarterback change.

“I don’t know. We talk about it every week, you’re competing for a job. So we’ll sit down as a coaching staff and see how it goes,” Mayo said.

Thursday’s game highlighted the difficult decision the Patriots coaching staff must make regarding their rookie quarterback. Brissett was pressured on over 50 percent of his dropbacks on Thursday and took double-digit hits – an unsustainable rate for any quarterback, especially a rookie.

The play of the offensive line prompted Mayo to send its rookie quarterback onto the field Thursday night, who ended up taking two sacks and another hard hit.

“In the second half, I felt like our offensive line just wasn’t playing the way it had in the early stages of the game,” Mayo explained. “That was definitely something I thought about personally, but at the same time, I thought it was too good an opportunity for him to go out there and get some experience.”

While New England’s offensive line may make it difficult for the team to use the rookie at quarterback, Mayo’s noncommittal answer represented a departure from recent weeks when he made it clear that the organization is “100 percent” behind Brissett.

When Maye’s number is called, the newcomer is ready.

“That’s what I do week in and week out: I’m ready when my name is called, when my number is called, I go out there and try to make some plays,” Maye said in the locker room. “I prepared like I was the starter, and at the same time I was there for Jacoby. He fought tonight. He got up every time, jogged out and cheered on the guys on the sideline. He made some great shots tonight.”