Patriots HC addresses Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett chatter amid passing struggles

As ESPN's Mike Reiss pointed out, New England Patriots starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett admitted shortly after the club's 23-20 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday that the Patriots "would like more in our passing game."

During a Monday appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show," New England head coach Jerod Mayo left little doubt he's not yet thinking about when promising rookie Drake Maye could replace Brissett in the lineup as the Patriots prepare to play at the 1-1 New York Jets this coming Thursday night.

"For me, I'm focused on the Jets," Mayo explained, as shared by Adam London of NESN. "I'm not looking that far out. As an organization, we're still 100% behind Jacoby."

Brissett was praised for playing "smart, complementary football" after he completed 15-of-24 passes for 121 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions in New England's 16-10 season-opening win at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 8. Against Seattle, Brissett connected on 15-of-27 pass attempts for 149 yards with a touchdown and no picks. Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston noted that New England wide receivers recorded just 19 total receiving yards versus the Seahawks.

According to ESPN stats, Brissett began Monday ranked 28th in the league with a total of 270 passing yards and tied for 24th among qualified players with a 58.8 completion percentage on the season . While some would suggest that Maye could at the very least put up similar numbers while developing as a starting signal-caller, Mayo said during Monday's "The Greg Hill Show" chat he thought his team's pass blocking "was average at best" versus Seattle.

Before Week 1, analysts commonly referenced New England's shaky offensive line as one reason Brissett should start over Maye for at least a portion of the season. Per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston, Brissett had "the second-highest pressure rate in the NFL (44.3%)" among quarterbacks who had made two starts this season as of Monday afternoon.

It always seemed unlikely that Mayo would bench a healthy Brissett to start Maye against a stingy Jets defense four days after the Seattle matchup regardless of how the 31-year-old played over New England's first two games. If, however, Brissett has a bad night at MetLife Stadium, Mayo may have to consider using the extra time to get Maye ready to play at the San Francisco 49ers (1-1) on Sept. 29.