As much as New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has said that there is a quarterback competition between Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye, it hasn't appeared that way. 

He has continued to say that the quarterback who looks the best and is ready to go in September would get the start. But for the entire spring, that player has been Brissett. 

And that was further reinforced during practices when Brissett was getting reps with the 'starting' offensive line, while Maye was working with the second stringers. And the depth on the line is a huge problem, so Maye couldn't truly show what he's capable of. 

But Mayo finally gave Maye a fair shot. In the Patriots second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, after three drives for Brissett, it was Maye's turn and he was sent out with the starting offensive line. The only change was Nick Leverett came in for David Andrews. 

But otherwise it was Vederian Lowe at left tackle, Sidy Sow at left guard, Mike Onwenu at right guard, and Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle.

With some additional time in the pocket, Maye was able to really get into the game and make some nice plays. One included a 12-yard pass to Javon Baker for a first down.  

While the stats might not show it, Maye's performance on Thursday was very promising. And because of that, it seems Mayo is a little more open to a true quarterback competition. At least that's what he said when he was asked if he still sees a competition between the two for the season opener in Cincinnati. 

"I do. We have three more days of training camp practices, and it's our job as coaches to evaluate. The competition isn't over," Mayo explained on Friday morning. "They're still going to go out there, and they have to show not only themselves and their coaches but also their teammate. So it's definitely still a competition."

That goes hand-in-hand with what the head coach said after the game. 

“So even if Drake beats out Jacoby [Brissett], I mean, he earned that role," Mayo said. "If he's better than Jacoby, then he'll play; he'll start.”

So will Maye possibly get some first-team reps this week? 

"We'll see. We'll have a staff meeting later on today, and that decision will be made," Mayo added. "I do think he definitely showed improvement yesterday as a whole, and we'll see what happens going forward."

While Maye had a nice night which included a four-yard touchdown run, Brissett really struggled. He only got three drives in the preseason game, going three-and-out on his first drive, and then threw an interception in the end zone on the second. And then on the third, he went three-and-out once again.

He finished going 3-for-7 for 17 yards.

Specifically on the interception, Mayo was very critical of the veteran for such a sloppy play. 

"Yeah, it was just forcing the play. We had other guys open on that play. It was just a poor play. It was a terrible play, and we can't have those, especially when you have guaranteed points on the board," Mayo explained. "It turns from an 'Alright, we got a field goal, and we're pretty much secure,' to now it being a 7-point play by turning the bal lover. So just a poor play overall. I think if you asked Jacoby, he would say the same thing."

The third and final preseason game against the Washington Commanders is going to be vital for Brissett and Maye. This is where they can truly cement themselves as the starter. 

So we'll just have to wait and see who wins.