New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo says the competition to be starting quarterback "isn't over" after Drake Maye's impressive performance against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Maye impressed in their 14-13 preseason loss on Thursday, playing four series as he finished 6-of-11 for 47 yards with a four-yard rushing touchdown.
So far, he has mainly been used as the backup option behind Jacoby Brissett during the Patriots' training camp.
The coach praised Maye's performance, though admitted the offense are yet to find their rhythm ahead of the new season.
"Stepping up into pressure, I thought he did a better job overall with using his legs and really extending plays," Mayo said on Friday.
"[The quarterbacks] have to maintain their composure and get the call to the huddle and get those guys out the huddle and be ready to go. [Maye]'s always been like that in my mind.
"I think the entire offense definitely needs to play and continue to jell, and that's what we're going to do."
The Patriots signed Brissett to a one-year contract in March, and immediately named him as a starter, with his experience proving invaluable.
He has struggled to hit his stride in preseason so far though, finishing 3-of-7 for 17 yards in three series on Thursday, including a costly end zone interception.
With only one preseason game still to play, against the Washington Commanders on August 25, Mayo plans to use both quarterbacks, giving them a chance to stake their claim on the position.
"We have three more days of training camp practices, and it's our job as coaches to evaluate, and the competition isn't over," Mayo added.
"They have to show not only themselves and the coaches [but] also their teammates.
"For me, we always talk about competition, and that's at all spots. Even if Drake beats out Jacoby, he earned that role.
"We don't really take that into consideration when he's ready to go. If he's better than Jacoby, then he'll play, and he'll start."
Cowboys quarterback Prescott reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined following an MRI, and reported Monday from multiple media outlets.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined Monday following an MRI.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Stumbling Saints fire head coach Allen
The New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday, one day after the team’s losing streak reached seven games with a 23-22 defeat to the lowly Carolina Panthers.
New Orleans got off to an unexpected strong start to the 2024 season by outscoring its first two opponents 91-29 in a pair of victories.
The Saints lost their next two games by just a combined five points, but then it really started to unravel for the team.
New Orleans’ next four defeats all came by 13 points or more, and on Sunday, the Panthers pulled out a 23-22 win over the Saints after Carolina entered the meeting with a 1-7 record.
Allen was promoted from New Orleans' defensive coordinator to head coach after the 2021 season, and the Saints posted an 18-25 record under him with no play-off appearances.
The Saints (2-7) are expected to name special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi as interim head coach ahead of their Week 10 visit from the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (6-3).
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