FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots lost 14-13 in a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, but rookie Drake Maye scored a touchdown and led the team on two of the team’s three scoring drives.
The No. 3 overall draft pick out of North Carolina appeared on just one series in the Patriots’ preseason opener but played the second and third quarters in this game.
He completed 6 of 11 attempts for 47 yards.
Joey Slye, who is competing with incumbent Chad Ryland for the starting spot, made two field goals for New England.
The Patriots (1-1) recorded 11 first downs but only four in the final two quarters.
The Patriots led 13-6 in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles fought back.
Rookie running back Kendall Milton ran for one yard, and Tanner McGehee connected with Aeneas Smith for the game-winning two-point conversion.
Jake Elliott also made two field goals for Philadelphia (2-0).
Jacoby Brissett, who was projected to be the Patriots’ starter in Week 1, had a disappointing first quarter before being replaced by Meyer.
New England ended their first attacking drive with three straight attempts, the Patriots’ second attempt ending with Brissett being intercepted in the end zone by Philadelphia’s Avonte Maddox.
The offense again failed on three straight attempts, with Brissett finishing the game with 17 yards after completing just 3 of 7 attempts.
Maye received a thunderous ovation from the sparse crowd at Gillette Stadium when he checked in before the start of the second quarter.
He gave the fans even more to cheer with a third-down pass to fellow rookie Javon Baker, a 12-yarder that helped set up Slye’s 51-yarder to eventually tie the game at 3-3.
Maye got into the end zone from 4 yards out on the first play after the two-minute warning to give New England a 10-3 lead going into the second half.
Maye’s third-quarter performance got off to a shaky start with a fumble on a passing exchange, but the Patriots recovered.
New England managed just one first down in the third quarter, and that was on a defensive pass interference call.
Two days after the Eagles took part in a joint practice with the Patriots, Philadelphia opted to bench starting quarterback Jalen Hurts for the second straight preseason game.
Reserve Kenny Pickett played throughout the first half, completing 11 of 13 passes for just 67 yards.
The Eagles were unable to get into the end zone, with their only points through two quarters coming on a 42-yard kick by Elliott.
He added a 38-yard pass in the fourth quarter.
After the Eagles took the lead with 4:23 left, New England brought in Bailey Zappe with 2:25 left after rookie Joe Milton III was 2-of-7 for 20 yards but couldn’t get the offense to a first down on the ensuing possession.
Zappe’s comeback attempt ended when Philadelphia recovered a bad snap to use up 1 minute, 47 seconds left.
McGee was the Eagles’ second half starter and completed 15 of 19 attempts for 140 yards.
Will Grier spent part of last season on New England’s practice squad and completed 3 of 5 attempts for 35 yards with Philadelphia.
