FOXBORO, Mass. — During his news conference following the New England Patriots’ final preseason game, quarterback Jacoby Brissett said the word “fun” 11 times in five-and-a-half minutes. He had every reason to be in a good mood.
After struggling in New England’s first two tune-up games and not playing in the third, Brissett delivered his finest performance in a Patriots uniform Thursday night, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for another in a 40-38 loss to the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium.
“That was fun,” the grinning QB said minutes after the final whistle. “It makes you feel like a kid again. It’s hard to explain the words. You know, you wish the results were different, but that was fun. That was a lot of fun.”
With starters for both teams sitting out the exhibition matchup, Brissett played the entire game, completing 28 of his 39 passes for 341 yards. He spread the ball around to the Patriots’ crew of reserve skill players, with Devin Lucien catching five passes, D.J. Foster, K.J. Maye and Jacob Hollister all catching four, and Austin Carr and LeShun Daniels each catching three.
Brissett’s connection was strongest with Lucien, who was making his final case for a spot on the 53-man roster. The wide receiver hauled in a 45-yard bomb from Brissett midway through the first quarter and also caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from the N.C. State product that reminded Lucien of a play Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton might make.
Seeing pressure up the middle, Brissett took three quick steps back, threw off his back foot and lofted a pass over Giants safety Tay Glover-Wright and into the waiting arms of Lucien, who finished with a game-high 95 receiving yards.
Brissett also made a few plays with his legs, juking out safety Ryan Murphy at the goal line on his 5-yard touchdown run — “I probably didn’t need that, honestly,” he said after the game — and working hard to evade a sack on a drive that resulted in go-ahead field goal.
Brissett’s performance was not flawless. He threw a pick-six to defensive end Kerry Wynn on the first play of New England’s second possession and had a handful of other passes bounce off the helmets or hands of Giants players late in the game.
But regardless of those hiccups, Thursday’s showing should quiet any speculation that Brissett could be a surprise cut when the Patriots trim their roster from 90 to 53 players this Saturday. He certainly didn’t look worried.
“You get lost in the game,” Brissett said. “It was fun. You’re just in the locker room talking to a couple guys. It makes you feel like you’re in middle school again playing football. You know the plan, you know what they’re going to do, you know what we’re going to do, they know what we’re going to do, so it’s just about executing under pressure and just having fun.”
Thumbnail photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images
