Jacoby Brissett will remain Patriots’ starting QB, Jerod Mayo says

Jacoby Brissett did not have his best game on Sunday. He was sacked six times, he threw a brutal interception that was returned for a touchdown, and he lost a fumble.

His final stat line, 19-for-32 passing for 168 yards and a touchdown was uninspiring.

But, he is still the Patriots’ quarterback for the time being, coach Jerod Mayo said.

“At this point, Jacoby is our starting quarterback,” Mayo said. “I haven’t watched any film or anything like that. He’s been a great leader. He just broke the huddle down after I talked to the guys. We’ve got to watch the film. We have a long flight to go back and watch the film and we’re always evaluating every single position.”

Mayo was asked if he thought about playing rookie quarterback Drake Maye. Maye made his NFL debut against the Jets last week but did not make an appearance against San Francisco.

“No thoughts today,” Mayo said.

The Patriots, who entered the game ranked second to last in scoring (13 points per game), cannot afford to give the ball away, Brissett said of his two turnovers.

“It’s tough. We can’t spot them two turnovers like that,” Brissett said. “We can’t put our defense in a bad position like that. I think that’s where it starts and then it comes back down to the fundamentals, you know, the execution. We really beat ourselves. we get a drive going and then something happens.

“Honestly we’re not good enough to play against ourselves and the defense,” Brissett added. “You just go back to practice, go back to the drawing board and keep getting better from it.”

Brissett had at least one receiver open on the interception. He said he made a bad throw. The ball went right to San Francisco’s Fred Warner.

The decision-making on that play could be considered sketchy too. Brissett has taken a beating behind the Patriots’ offensive line and some may wonder if the hits he’s taking are leading him to play nervously.

Mayo said he’s not seeing that from the quarterback.

“What I will say about Jacoby is that he’s tough both mentally and physically,” Mayo said. “This guy is going out there and he’s taking some huge shots and continues to get back up. Sometimes you’re like ‘man is he OK?’ and you watch him for a while but he is a tough guy and I would never use the word skittish with a guy like that.”

Brissett knows the hits will keep coming. He has been sacked 11 times in the last two games. He was asked how much more of this punishment he can take.

“Just keep gettting up,” he said. “That’s all I can do. That’s all I’m going to keep doing.”