Patriots' Drake Maye Reveals Takeaways After Preseason Loss vs. Eagles

The New England Patriots rookie QB got some valuable preseason experience on Thursday.

Aug 15, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots finished up their second preseason bout of the year on Thursday vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, where the team saw a handful of good qualities throughout the duration of the contest.

One of the biggest bright spots the Patriots saw vs. the Eagles was the performance of their rookie quarterback, Drake Maye. After being limited to just six snaps in New England's preseason debut vs. the Carolina Panthers, the third-overall pick got two-quarters of action against Philadelphia and made the most of it in the process.

Maye finished the game with a solid night-- posting 47 passing yards while completing six of his eleven attempts, also rushing in his first NFL touchdown during a red zone run in the second quarter. The game may not have ended the way New England hoped, but there's a ton of optimism to be had walking out of this one.

After the Patriots' 13-14 finish in Foxboro on Thursday, Maye sounded off on his experience during New England's second preseason game, expressing that it was a solid effort from him and the team, yet had a few issues operationally to iron out moving forward:

"It was fun to get out there. I'm glad the weather held off. Other than that, I thought the guys did a good job. I thought they fought hard. There were the little things: me getting the snap, we had a false start-- things that we were preaching over and over again. Operationally, we'll have to clean up as it cost us the game."

- Drake Maye after loss vs. Eagles

It wasn't a perfect performance from the Patriots, as there were many miscommunications and missteps upon the offensive line, as well as a few quarterback-to-receiver connections that failed to convert throughout. Nonetheless, it's hard to dislike what New England got out of their third-overall selection from this April.

Javon Baker is going to be making this catch more times than not this year pic.twitter.com/DdH0tD1P17

— Football Digest (@FoootballDigest) August 16, 2024

Maye continued to touch on how his confidence has evolved during his initial reps in the league, expressing that it's a trait that tends to grow each time he steps on the field:

""I think every time you get out there you get more and more confident. First off, it's always going to be the nerves, getting out and running out there the first time. But other than that, more reps are only going to help me. At the end of the day, I'm just fortunate to be able to get out there get some reps and make the most of my opportunities."

- Drake Maye on his confidence level

Maye and the Patriots will get one final shot to make some noise in the preseason on Sunday, August 25th vs. the Washington Commanders, where we'll likely see some more flashes come to light for New England's prized rookie quarterback.

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