The New England Patriots practiced the entire week without knowing for certain who was going to start at quarterback. 

In last Sunday's game against the Jets, Drake Maye left the game early after suffering a concussion. So while the Patriots were preparing for the Tennessee Titans, the rookie was going through the protocol. 

But on Saturday, he was cleared. 

Despite the loss, Maye showed what he was capable of. He lead the team with 95 rushing yards, and threw for 206 yards. 

It was the most rushing yards from any Patriots quarterback since Steve Grogan in 1976. 

"I thought he did well," head coach Jerod Mayo said. "I'm sure we'll watch the film and say things and second guess whether to slide or not to slide. But he's healthy and I think that's the most important thing."

On many of those rushes, there was a bit of fear for fans watching, hoping that the future of the franchise didn't get hurt again. But Maye refused to let the concussion prevent him from doing what he's capable of. 

“I tried to slide headfirst a little bit. Sometimes I think that’s just as dangerous diving into people’s legs, but I’m not going to change the player that I am,” the quarterback told reporters. “I’m past the protocol and cleared and I’m going to be the player. If they’re dropping out guys and you know there’s some rush lanes up front, I’m going to make them pay. That’s my mindset.”

He added that he never had any hesitation running the ball. 

After Maye exited the game in Week 8, Mayo revealed that Maye actually pushed to go back in. He was not happy about having to sit on the sideline. 

And on Sunday, he gave a little insight into what this past week was like. 

"It's tough. You want to be out there, and you want to be out there last week. The spotter up top, they do to protect us quarterbacks now and you can’t blame them with what’s going on with some of the quarterback hits. So maybe the process — I watched the last game on the sideline. 

"I'm in my pads and in my cleats and there’s some metal on the ground inside the tent and I’m doing the balance test, so there’s some gray area there. I don’t know if anybody could have passed that, but really coming into this week, just trusting it and took some tests and felt good.”