The New England Patriots have a lot to feel good about exiting Week 8. Not only did they manage to put an end to the NFL’s longest losing streak by beating the New York Jets 25-22, they also escaped the contest relatively clean from a health perspective.
Of course, the one big hit they did take was a major one. With that said, let’s assess the damage after re-watching the contest.
Injury analysis
QB Drake Maye: Facing a 2nd-and-10 in the late first quarter (1:09), Maye decided to take advantage of a scramble lane opening up. While he did gain 18 yards on the play, he also absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit from behind and was slow to get up. He did remain in the game nonetheless, and continued to play four more snaps — including a sack and an incomplete pass attempt — before heading to the blue medical tent. Maye eventually departed for the locker room, and was ruled out with a concussion for the rest of the game.
QB Jacoby Brissett: The Patriots replaced Maye with former starter Jacoby Brissett midway through the second period and things almost went wrong for them on the final snap of the half. Attempting a quarterback sneak on 3rd-and-1, he was stonewalled at the line and pushed back. After falling to the ground with several players on top of him, Brissett was slow to get up but managed to not miss any time and finish the game in strong fashion.
What this means for the Patriots
There is a “glass half full” and a “glass half empty” way of looking at the Patriots’ win over the Jets from an injury perspective.
The first is based on the fact that the team suffered only one significant injury on Sunday. From a pure numbers perspective, that is a clear improvement over the last few weeks and a welcome change for a club that has had to deal with some serious blows on both sides of the ball so far this season.
Of course, Maye’s concussion overshadows what otherwise was a positive day. As of Tuesday morning, his outlook is unclear; the Patriots’ first practice of the week on Wednesday will provide further clarity when it comes to the rookie QB’s potential availability against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Fact is, however, that there is no set timeline when players can return from concussion protocol. For a more detailed breakdown, please check out our story on how the protocol works and what it means for Drake Maye, but the gist is this: until he is cleared for full football activities by both the team’s medical staff and an independent neurological consultant, the 22-year-old will remain out.
If his absence extends into Sunday’s game, the Patriots will continue playing Jacoby Brissett as their starting quarterback. In that case, sixth-round rookie Joe Milton is in line to make his debut on the game day roster after being a healthy scratch as the emergency QB for the first eight games of the season.
The Patriots also might look into adding more depth at the position through the practice squad, or maybe even to the active roster. They do have a vacant spot on the 53-man team after trading outside linebacker Joshua Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Needless to say, the next few days will be quite interesting.
The Patriots’ first injury report of the week will come out on Wednesday. The team will fly to Nashville on Saturday for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Nissan Stadium the following day.
