New England Patriots win first game without Bill Belichick in 28 years
Drake Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, played one series in his New England debut on Thursday night as the Patriots played their first game in 24 years without Bill Belichick as head coach, beating the Carolina Panthers 17-3 in an exhibition game.
New England’s new coach, 38-year-old Jerod Mayo, wearing a white short-sleeved Patriots jersey, became the NFL’s youngest coach when he was hired on Jan. 12, a day after Belichick decided to leave the organization.
It was the first time the Patriots played without Belichick on the sideline since Jan. 2, 2000. He led them to six Super Bowl titles. “That was always the plan,” Mayo said of Maye’s brief stint in the game. “The plan was to get him in for one series.”
Carolina also played their first game under a new coach, with Dave Canales making his debut.
“Tonight was about our rookies, the rookies, the guys that haven’t had a chance to play in the NFL. I think they figured out tonight that it’s just football. They ran and played hard,” Canales said after not having any of his first-teamers play. “For me, it was just a great opportunity to talk to the coaches, to talk to the officials. … It was just great reps for me to just get the flow of how the communication goes and to be able to work through that.”
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the top pick in the 2023 draft, did not play. Projected backup Andy Dalton was sidelined with a strained quadriceps.
Maye trotted onto the field in a light rainstorm for the Patriots’ second series and drew a nice round of applause from the sparse crowd. He completed his first attempt, a screen to Antonio Gibson for a 13-yard pickup. He was high on his first throw down the field and finished his night 2 for 3 for 19 yards.
“I guess I was a little nervous,” Maye said. “I think if you don’t get nervous, it doesn’t mean anything to you. That’s the way I look at it. I think nerves are a good thing. After you get that first snap, they blow the whistle at the end of the first play, you kind of calm down a little bit.”
The crowd booed as Bailey Zappe took the field for the Patriots’ third series. Probable season opener Jacoby Brissett went 0 for 3 on the first series.
“When it happened the other way around, it didn’t bother me at all,” said Zappe, who was a fan favorite last season when many wanted former Pats QB Mac Jones benched. “When it happened this way, it didn’t bother me at all.”
Zappe, who played a big part last year, went 12 of 20 for 108 yards. Rookie Joe Milton III, a sixth-round pick out of Tennessee, played the final quarter and a half, stunning the crowd with a pair of scrambles. He was 4 of 6 for 54 yards, including a 38-yard TD.
Jack Plummer completed 11 of 21 passes for 86 yards for the Panthers, and Mike Boone, one of seven backs currently on the roster, had eight carries for 34 yards.
For some Patriots fans, it felt unusual not to see Belichick on the sidelines. “It’s different. That’s why we’re here tonight, because I want to see what we’ve got,” said Fran Vicino, 61, a Patriots season ticket holder for 10 years.
In the night’s other game, Tommy DeVito replaced the injured Drew Lock late in the first quarter and led New York on two first-half scoring drives, which Eric Gray capped with runs of 48 and one yard, leading the Giants to a 14–3 defeat of the Detroit Lions in a season opener that featured mostly substitutes.