What the Patriots are saying about Drake Maye’s concussion
Maye was hit in the head on the end of a scramble by a Jets linebacker.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye subbed out of the Patriots’ matchup against the Jets and headed to the locker room with a head injury.
The rookie quarterback took a blow to the head at the end of a scramble.
He attempted to slide, but New York’s Jamien Sherwood crashed his helmet right into Maye’s helmet before the quarterback made it all the way down to the ground.
The rookie quarterback finished out the drive after the blow to the head. He was helped up by teammates and was sacked and threw an incomplete pass, leading to a Bryce Baringer punt.
He wanted to keep playing, coach Jerod Mayo said, but missed the remainder of the game.
“I walked in at halftime and saw him,” Mayo said. “The competitor that he is, obviously he wanted to go back out there and play. But there’s a protocol that he has to go through. Again, can’t wait to get him back.”
Veteran Jacoby Brissett took over for Maye at quarterback. Mayo said at halftime that he was counting on Brissett to take the Patriots to the “promised land.”
Brissett, who was benched after starting the first five games, steered the Patriots to a 25-22 victory that came down to the final drive.
“Obviously you never want to see a player go down,” Brissett said. “Obviously hoping Drake gets back. I think it was a good win. Fighting through adversity. We got a challenge earlier this week, the guys came out and responded well.”
“Obviously being able to come in the game and guys rally around me and help make plays,” Brissett added. “We obviously pushed it in at the end to score the win. I think that was the encompass of a lot of things throughout the season. Just hoping this is a snowball effect, start of something special.”
Maye’s ability to make plays with his legs had the Patriots’ offense going early. He was New England’s leading rusher with 46 yards on 3 carries and a rushing touchdown at the time of his injury. New England was trailing 7-6. Maye went 3-for-6 passing for 23 yards before leaving the game.
Defensive lineman Davon Godchaux said he did not realize Maye was hurt until he saw Brissett heading out onto the field.
“I didn’t even know Drake got hurt. I was like ‘Jacoby is in the game?’ They say he has a concussion but I’m sure he’ll bounce back. It’s a great job by Jacoby just being a veteran in this league. That’s why he’s a captain of our team.”
Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said the Patriots handled the adversity well.
“It was tough,” Bourne said. “You never want to lose a player, you know, anybody that has impact on the game. He started the game great. He scored a touchdown. It’s just the mentality of the team, next man up and we responded good as a group.”
Defensive lineman Keion White said the group had faith that Brissett would come through.
“It’s the National Football League. Next man up mentality. Jacoby has been in the league a long time. We were confident that he knew what to do and you’ve just got to roll with it. Obviously we miss Drake out there and hope to have him back quickly, but again we have to adjust and keep rolling.”
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