FOXBORO, Mass. -- Jerod Mayo shared earlier in the week that both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye would play in the Patriots preseason opener Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers.
They did. Just not for long.
Brissett and Maye opened the night at Gillette Stadium with one drive and one first down apiece. From there, it was the Bailey Zappe show with the third-year quarterback playing the majority of the night. He eventually gave way to 2024 sixth-rounder Joe Milton III to finish out the night.
These two young passers likely are competing for the final spot on the depth chart behind Brissett and Zappe. Thursday night put the spotlight on them to see how they could each engineer Alex Van Pelt's offense.
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Here's what we saw from the rest of the depth chart at quarterback for the Patriots on Thursday night.
ZAPPE
Passing stats: 12/20, 108 yards
The third-year Patriots quarterback took over under center on New England's third possession of the night. His drives contributed to the dragging total of 13 combined first-half punts.
Working with two-tight end sets and mixing in play action, Zappe had to scramble out of several collapsing pockets and took an intentional grounding penalty among his first snaps of game action.
Zappe did make the big completion when it mattered after a David Wallis punt return gave the Patriots the ball on the Carolina 31-yard line in the second quarter. On third down, Zappe zipped a pass that just beat Carolina defensive back D'Shawn Jamison to wideout Kayshon Boutte, who turned and got down to the 3-yard line. Kevin Harris punched it in two plays later to put the Patriots on the board.
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Otherwise, Zappe did not have an overly impactful night to elevate the offense.
MILTON
Passing stats: 4/6, 54 yards, 1 TD
Rushing stats: 5 carries, 22 yards
The Tennessee product entered the contest with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter with the Patriots leading 7-0.
On his first possession, Milton definitely turned in the play that brought the most energy out of the Gillette Stadium crowd. On second-and-4, the quarterback rolled right out of trouble, wheeled back left and scrambled for a 12-yard gain and a new set of downs.
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Milton led the Patriots to points on that 11-play drive capped off by a 42-yard field goal from Joey Slye.
On his next possession, Milton put the ball on the money to find receiver JaQuae Jackson on a well-timed double move down the left sideline for a 38-yard touchdown.
It's too early to read much into these performances, but the Patriots did have a spark with Milton.
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Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images
