FOXBORO, Mass. — Jacoby Brissett slipped his brown jacket over his hoodie, slid into his untied shoes and turned left away from his locker. He weaved through traffic, out one door and through another, stepping onto a mini stage before a slew of cameras and questions about how he navigated a 25-22 comeback win for the New England Patriots over the New York Jets.
He knew the path here, to this lectern. He thought it was a journey he’d make often. He signed a one-year deal with the Patriots this spring, confident he’d be the team’s starting quarterback, if not for the entire season then at least most of it. He’d mentor rookie quarterback Drake Maye, sure, but Brissett would be the guy.
Instead, Brissett was benched three weeks ago. A sad truth about NFL backups is how invisible they become. Cameras point elsewhere during practices. Eyes are on the field during games. Reporters go to the starters afterward.
So Brissett slid into the background. Maye commanded all the attention, and deservedly so. Quickly, the 22-year-old became one of the team’s best players, both a sign of optimism that the Patriots have their long-term quarterback and a damning statement about the rest of their roster.
Quietly, Brissett was frustrated. Who wouldn’t be? He wanted to play. He thought he’d earned the chance. He only had five games.
But the Patriots signed Brissett as much for how they thought he’d handle things off the field as for how he’d perform on it. So even after getting benched, Brissett retained his duties as a captain, according to teammates. He helped Maye prepare for his starts the last three weeks. But he didn’t know whether he’d see the field again this season.
That’s because Maye looked good. A third straight start appeared ready to deliver another impressive game from the rookie as he rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter. But then, early in the second, Maye left the game with a concussion, and Brissett suddenly had another chance to shine.
Take it yourself @DrakeMaye2 👏
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/lDKGOnPLKj
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 27, 2024
It was far from an easy situation for Brissett. The players around him had every reason to fold. The head coach had called the team “soft” a week earlier. The exciting young quarterback was out of the game. The coaches had such little confidence in the offense that they didn’t even try to score at the end of the first half, instead simply killing the clock despite having two timeouts and 1:51 remaining. A future Hall of Fame quarterback stood on the other sideline, while the Patriots looked to their journeyman for help.
Aaron Rodgers and the Jets had everything to lose. Some thought the Super Bowl could be within their reach. On Sunday, their season was on the line.
Brissett was in a much different spot, having nothing to lose in a rebuilding season with his starting gig already gone, only a shot at redemption before him.
“I don’t look at it as no redemption,” Brissett said after the game. “I think this is a testament to me believing in myself and not y’all.”
When he and the Patriots got the ball back with just under three minutes remaining in regulation and needing a touchdown to win, there probably weren’t many believers in Gillette Stadium. Hey, the team hasn’t given us many reasons to have faith.
But what followed was a 12-play, 70-yard, game-winning touchdown drive orchestrated by the cast-aside quarterback, a feel-good moment for a guy who hasn’t had many of them of late. It yielded the Patriots’ first home win in more than a calendar year, the last coming on Oct. 22, 2023.
Brissett’s final stats weren’t particularly eye-popping. Completions on 15 of 24 attempts, 132 yards passing. But efficient when that’s what was needed.
“I thought Jacoby was ready to go,” coach Jerod Mayo said. “Was it perfect? No. But at the same time, I thought the operation was good. I thought he made some good throws. We’ve just got to continue to build on that.”
Things looked especially bleak on third-and-10 on that final drive from the Jets’ 43-yard line. Brissett saw the safety tilt away from Kayshon Boutte, indicating he’d have one-on-one coverage. So Brissett knew where he was going with the ball. But when he let it fly down the field, he thought he underthrew it.
“As soon as it came off my hand, I was like, ‘Damn,’” Brissett said.
It felt like a missed chance. All this work to get another opportunity and he’d underthrown it. But Boutte adjusted, got cornerback Sauce Gardner turned around and slid to make the catch on a day the Patriots receivers didn’t have much else going for them.
.@JBrissett12 threading it to @KayshonBoutte1 🎯
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/oAgSg7YsTS
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 27, 2024
“He did the rest,” Brissett said. “I was a mere spectator on the play.”
In the grand scheme of things, winning this game wasn’t the most important thing for the Patriots. They’re not likely to be a playoff team, and this season is more about the development of Maye and other young players who will be central to the franchise beyond the rebuild.
But it didn’t feel that way after the game. When the final seconds ticked away, sealing the upset victory, coaches and players stormed off the sideline to celebrate. They’re only 2-6, but after a trying week with plenty of drama, it was much needed.
“Winning in the NFL is hard. I know y’all don’t think that, but it’s hard,” Brissett said. “We’ve been in a lull. Things haven’t been going our way. But today the ball bounced our way.”
It was especially meaningful for Brissett. In the long term, a performance like that can prove to teams he’s a high-end backup and prolong his career. In the short term, it was a moment of jubilation after much criticism and disappointment.
Largely an afterthought, Brissett came in and helped save the Patriots from another week of frustration and concern about where they’re headed, instead delivering a big upset that sends the rival Jets back to New Jersey reeling. In the process, he got to prove he’s still capable of playing this difficult position.
“I’m not trying to, like, be arrogant,” Brissett said, “but I’m very proud of myself today.”
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(Photo: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images)
