What We Saw: Preseason Week 3

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Patriots @ Commanders

Final Score: Commanders 20, Patriots 10

Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)

Jayden Daniels! Drake Maye! Two young rookie QBs squaring off in a primetime preseason matchup! … Except Jacoby Brissett got the start for New England, and Daniels didn’t even play. In fact, 34 Commanders did not even suit up for this game, including almost all of the first team offenses and defenses. We only saw one drive for Brissett, and it looked like he may have injured his shoulder in his short time out there. Drake Maye looked spectacular on his first drive, leading the Patriots down the field for a touchdown but looked mortal on his following drives. Otherwise, it was a pretty uneventful night as the preseason is *finally* over.

Three Up

Drake Maye – Looked really good on his first drive, taking New England down the field for the score. He couldn’t repeat his success on later drives, but it was a glimpse into his potential.
Ja’Lynn Polk – He’s going to be New England’s most productive WR for fantasy purposes, at least until Kendrick Bourne returns from injury. He’s Mr. Reliable for both Brissett and Maye.
Trace McSorley – Drove Washington down the field on a late scoring drive

One Down

Offensive Lines – Both offensive lines really struggled – Washington’s 2nd team OL against New England’s first team DL, and New England’s 1st team OL vs Washington’s 2nd team DL. You should be more concerned about one than the other.

OL penalties in the first 1 1/2 quarters:

-False start on Robinson
-Illegal formation on Okorafor
-Illegal formation on Okorafor
-Holding on Robinson
-Holding on Sow
-Illegal formation on Onwenu

Only player without one is center Nick Leverett, who's botched two snaps. https://t.co/JI5TRm82hf

— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) August 26, 2024

New England Patriots

Quarterback

Jacoby Brissett: 2/4, 19 yards, sack

Brissett took the snaps on New England’s first drive, completing two of his four attempts. The two most notable plays were an incompletion to KJ Osborn down the sideline, where Brissett looked to drop in a near-perfect throw but Osborn attempted to catch it with one hand instead of two. It was puzzling and ended the drive. A few plays earlier, Brissett was crunched on a big sack thanks to a missed block by RG Sidy Sow. Brissett came up in pain but continued on to finish the drive. This was the end of his night.

Drake Maye: 13/20, 126 yards, TD, 2 fumbles | 3 carries, 17 yards

Maye’s first drive was special. His first snap was fumbled, not Maye’s fault as it was at his ankles but it goes against him in the box score regardless. It set up 3rd and long deep in NE’s own territory, and Maye scrambled up the middle to convert. He had multiple long completions on 3rd down, including ones to Pop Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk. Maye fumbled another snap later in the drive. His touchdown throw came thanks to a nice play by RB Kevin Harris. What I was most impressed by was his movement in the pocket – footwork has been the buzzword of the offseason with Maye, as coaches have tirelessly worked with him through minicamp, OTAs, and training camp on improving his footwork. It showed in this game. Maye moved around the pocket fluidly, avoiding pressure and throwing downfield on multiple occasions. He even had his foot stepped on and his shoe came off, but he was still able to complete a pass on the play.

Maye flashed the special talent that New England saw in him when they drafted him third overall. This Aaron Rodgers-esque throw came on a play that was wiped out by a penalty, but boy oh boy what a throw this was.

This touchdown was negated by (ANOTHER) penalty on Okorafor, but what. a. throw by Drake Maye pic.twitter.com/gPxLgkY0fT

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) August 26, 2024

Unfortunately, for every highlight real throw, there was another one that was equally as puzzling. Take this one, for example, a few plays later. He had Ja’Lynn Polk open but waited too long and threw a hospital ball over the middle that could have gotten Polk hurt.

Gotta protect your receivers, Drake pic.twitter.com/pTa8SeUpki

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) August 26, 2024

He showed his leadership qualities by going up to Polk on the sideline afterward to apologize.

Looks like Drake Maye went up to apologize to Ja'Lynn Polk after throwing him that hospital ball pic.twitter.com/wfRJ6qDjKD

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) August 26, 2024

So yes, Maye flashed the hype and potential we all hoped he would. You’re going to hear a lot of talking heads between now and September 8th saying that Maye should start week one. He’s easily the most talented QB on the roster, but he can’t live off talent alone and he still has a lot to work on in the mental part of the game before he can step in and take the reigns.

Joe Milton: 5/17, 78 yards | 3 carries, 23 yards

Accuracy remains an issue for Milton, and he continues to throw passes to RBs out of the backfield at 100 MPH. That ain’t gonna work at this level.

Running Back

JaMycal Hasty: 4 carries, 21 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 24 yards

Hasty has looked good this preseason, and he’s shown more abilities as a downhill runner than I expected. He runs with some aggression that I didn’t know he had. He’s on the roster bubble, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he hangs around with the Patriots this season.

Antonio Gibson: 3 carries, 17 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 13 yards

Gibson either carried the ball or was targeted on each of New England’s first five offensive plays. He looked fast, quick, and agile. He was left wide open out of the backfield on 3rd down and earned a nice gain on the catch and run. He should be a change of pace, 3rd down RB option for the Patriots this season and his fantasy stock mainly rests on the health of Rhamondre Stevenson.

Kevin Harris: 1 carry, -1 yard | 1 target, 1 reception, 18 yards, TD

Harris scored a touchdown on New England’s second drive of the night. As he caught the ball in the flat, Harris spun to his left to get away from the defender before hustling down the sideline and hurdling into the end zone. It was a great play to cap off an impressive drive by Maye and the rest of the offense.

Terrell Jennings: 6 carries, 36 yards

I really like what I’ve seen from Jennings this preseason. He likely won’t make the team, but he does all of the little things right. He’s been really good in blitz pickup. He falls forward on every run. He seems to slither his way through holes for big gains every time he carries the rock. I’d like to see more

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Ja’Lynn Polk: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 33 yards

I think it’s safe to say that Ja’Lynn Polk will be the number one receiver in this Patriots offense. I think DeMario Douglas is the best pure talent, but Polk has already shown in both camp and in games that he has the surest hands of the group and is best equipped to make tough catches. He’s already earned the trust of Drake Maye, and I think his fantasy stock will soar once Maye ends up under center.

DeMario Douglas: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 14 yards

Two of Douglas’ catches came a yard or two downfield with two or three guys around him. He danced and juked around but couldn’t make anything of them. He also caught a third down throw and immediately took a big hit, but he stayed on his feet

Javon Baker: 7 targets, 2 receptions, 33 yards

Baker is playing with the second and third team offense. He’s racking up targets but not doing much with them. He still has work to do with his routes, and his raw talent is obvious. He should make an impact at some point this season.

Tyquan Thornton: 3 targets, 1 reception, 4 yards

Word out of camp is that Patriots coaches are raving about Thornton and expect him to be the starting outside receiver for the team. I don’t know how or why that’s the case, because he has shown absolutely nothing in the preseason to deserve that. Maybe it’s due to lack of options? His most notable play in Sunday night’s game was an underthrow by Maye where his arm was hit, and Thornton still waited for the ball to come to him instead of going to get it. It ended up incomplete, as you can imagine. He was out of sync with Maye on another target that went incomplete and ended a drive. Don’t bother considering Thornton in any fantasy formats this season, regardless of what rumors come out of Foxborough.

Kayshon Boutte: 1 target

Jaheim Bell: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 22 yards

KJ Osborn: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 17 yards

Brissett threw a great ball his way but, instead of catching it with two hands, Osborn tried a one-handed grab and it ended up incomplete. The veteran should know better.

Washington Commanders

Quarterback

Jeff Driskel: 12/18, 73 yards, INT, Sack | 1 carry, 3 yards

I’m not going to spend much time on the Commanders as none of these guys will be fantasy-relevant this season. Driskel did a good job of moving in the pocket to buy himself more time to throw, but he didn’t really push the ball downfield and his interception was an awful decision. If he plays for Washington at all this season they’re in big trouble.

Trace McSorley: 12/21, 125 yards, TD | 4 carries, 40 yards

Trace McSorley did a lot of running and a lot of scrambling. I think you already know what you’re gonna get out of McSorley when he takes the field. He led Washington down the field on a late scoring drive, culminating in a touchdown throw to Martavis Bryant, but otherwise, it was a disjointed effort.

Running Back

Chris Rodriguez Jr.: 1 carry, 1 yard | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards

Jeremy McNichols: 5 carries, 23 yards

Looked like the best back on the field for Washington tonight, and that was against New England’s starting defense. Only played two or three drives. I wouldn’t say I was impressed, but he was better than Washington’s other options. Ran tough and showed some quickness on his cuts.

Michael Wiley: 7 carries, 26 yards, TD | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 1 yard

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Byron Pringle: 4 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards

Had a nice catch down the sideline, but had already stepped out of bounds and was flagged for illegal touching. Nothing notable after that.

Martavis Bryant: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards, TD

Yeah, he’s back on a roster. Bryant played late in the 4th quarter and caught a touchdown pass. The Commanders’ sideline went nuts in celebration, and it’s clear the team is excited he has another chance in the NFL.