Both veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett and first-year New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo are aware that fans and some media members want Mayo to start rookie Drake Maye in place of Brissett. In an interview with Boston sports radio station WEEI on Monday afternoon, Brissett discussed the unquestionable outside noise that pervaded the 1-3 club at the start of October. “I don’t control that part of this whole process thing at all,” Brissett explained, as shared by Karen Guregian of MassLive. “Am I hearing it? Yes, without a doubt. I’m not hard of hearing. I acknowledge that this organization selected this player with the third overall pick. It seems to be what people want to see. I simply attempt to ignore it and focus on my work.” With an average of 13.0 points per game, the Brissett-led Patriots are 31st in the NFL and have lost three straight games, according to ESPN statistics. Brissett finished Week 4 ranked 25th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference, even though he cannot be held responsible for the fact that New England may have the worst offensive line in the league. These are unacceptable numbers from any signal caller, much less one who is obviously a bridge option at the position. Brissett, though, isn’t going to allow the outside noise bother him. “However, many of those people don’t know me, so I couldn’t really care less,” Brissett went on. Why waste my time to worry about the people who say those things? I just sort of ignore it.” Speaking with reporters on Monday, Mayo emphasized that “Jacoby is 100% our starter” for this coming Sunday’s home game against the Miami Dolphins, a 1-3 team that was destroyed 31–12 by the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. DraftKings Sportsbook had the Patriots as one-point favorites over the Dolphins as of Tuesday morning. In the event that Brissett is unable to lead New England to victory at Gillette Stadium this weekend, he may be forced to watch the team’s Week 6 game against the Houston Texans (3-1).
