The Patriots’ quarterback competition took an unexpected turn in Sunday’s preseason finale.

Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett started Sunday’s preseason finale against the Commanders but was quickly hooked after taking a hard sack in his only drive.

He was later announced as questionable to return with a right shoulder injury after already being replaced by rookie Drake Maye.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has said all summer that there’s a competition between Maye and Brissett, but the rookie has yet to take a first-team snap in practice.

Brissett went 2-of-4 for 19 yards in the Patriots’ opening series. He looked uncomfortable after landing on his shoulder when the Patriots’ protection fell apart on a first-down sack on the sixth play of the drive.

Maye looked excellent in his first series Sunday, leading the Patriots on a scoring drive and going 5-of-6 for 71 yards with a passing touchdown to running back Kevin Harris.

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NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast seemed to indicate that Mayo told them the competition was ongoing heading into Sunday’s preseason finale against the Commanders.

“I would say Drake took the ball down the field. You take away some of those bad snaps, and it probably looks a lot better. Jacoby went out there the first series, also made a conversion. We’ll see how it plays out,” Mayo said on the “Sunday Night Football” broadcast when asked about the quarterback competition.

Brissett threw incomplete to running back Antonio Gibson to start the series before Gibson picked up 5 yards on a handoff. The Commanders blitzed Brissett on third-and-5, and the veteran quarterback hung back and completed a pass to an uncovered Gibson that went for 13 yards and a first down.

Gibson then ran for 5 yards and 7 yards on his next two carries behind adept blocking.

On first-and-10, left guard Sidy Sow pulled and ran into right guard Layden Robinson, who was pushed back by the rush, before he could block Commanders pass rusher K.J. Henry. Henry sacked Brissett, who came up favoring his right shoulder.

Brissett stayed in the game and completed a 6-yard pass to tight end Jaheim Bell. On third-and-4, Brissett delivered an accurate downfield pass to wide receiver K.J. Osborn who only put up one hand and dropped the deep attempt.

The Patriots punted, and Drake Maye took over on the next offensive series, when the rookie immediately led his offense on a scoring drive, starting out 5-of-6 for 71 yards and a touchdown with three carries for 17 yards.

Mayo said before the game that Brissett would only play one or two series, so it was difficult to tell if he was pulled as part of a plan, out of precautionary measures or because of any injury.

Maye’s best pass was a 29-yard downfield strike to fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk. On the touchdown, Maye completed a short pass to running back Kevin Harris at the sideline. Harris showed impressive balance and the ability to pick up yards after catch by running the rest of the way on the 18-yard score.

Maye showed poise after taking two bad snaps from starting center Nick Leverett.

Maye was 3-of-3 for 12 yards on his second drive, but two plays went for negative yards, and two offensive linemen were flagged before the Patriots were forced to punt. He went 0-for-2 in his third drive, a three-and-out, and 1-of-3 for 6 yards in his fourth drive. He finished the half 13-of-20 for 125 yards with the touchdown, but he had another touchdown wiped out on his fifth drive with a penalty on left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor.

The Patriots’ offensive line was called for eight penalties in the team’s first five offensive drives.

Maye began to make the quarterback competition interesting starting Aug. 13 during a joint practice against the Eagles. He’s outplayed Brissett since that session.

“I think early on he was trying to defer and just be a good teammate,” Mayo said on The Sports Hub about Maye early in training camp. “Now, he’s competing to be the starting quarterback; he’s really kind of ramped up his preparation and production on the field.”