Jacoby Brissett likely woke up sore on Friday morning after the 24-3 beatdown the Patriots sustained at the hands of the Jets.
“It really didn’t come down to the plays. They just beat our ass, to be honest with you,” Brissett told reporters on Friday.
Brissett was sacked five times by the Jets after only being sacked four times in the Patriots’ first two games against the Seahawks and Bengals.
Even backup Drake Maye, who debuted in mop-up duty, was lit up on a one-yard scramble by Jamien Sherwood and sacked two more times.
Coach Jerod Mayo, who was initially non-committal about whether Brissett would continue to start over Maye, seemed to agree about the hits Brissett took.
“Jacoby is our quarterback until he’s not the quarterback. I thought last night he showed a lot of toughness, a lot of grit. …” Mayo told reporters.
The Patriots’ offensive line, which was a glaring concern before the season, will have to be better no matter who is playing quarterback if they expect to stay in games.
Before allowing seven sacks on “Thursday Night Football,” the Patriots had the third-worst offensive line grade per Pro Football Focus, so it’s a fair bet that they will be the worst in the league once all Week 3 games have been completed.
Brissett was pressured on 12 of 23 dropbacks (52.2 pressure rate), disastrous numbers for the struggling unit.
Undoubtedly, the Patriots don’t want to throw Maye, 22, back there with little to work with and no time to throw, opening him up for long-term injuries.
New England next faces the vaunted 49ers defense on Sept. 29.