Well …

That was fun.

Drake Maye rushed for a touchdown, unleashed his cannon arm and led two scoring drives Thursday in a preseason loss to the Eagles. In spurts, this was the quarterback Patriots fans had been waiting to see.

But that wasn’t all.

Maye flashed an almost boring maturity that sustains every quarterback over the course of any successful career. Over his four drives, Maye managed pressure in the pocket. He whipped through a couple full-field progression reads and kept drives alive by making sound decisions, including two throwaways he flipped instead of forcing a ball into blanket coverage.

It’s far too early to declare Maye can or will maintain that maturity in a regular-season setting. Way, way, way too early.

Plus, a closer look at Thursday’s film reveals Maye has plenty of room to grow because, of course he does. He’s a 21-year-old rookie. And he’s a rookie who, according to Jerod Mayo, can still win the starting job (though based on training camp practices, he remains clearly behind Jacoby Brissett).

If Maye wants to start, he must eliminate fundamental errors (a dropped snap), absorb more defensive cues pre-snap and play on time. The sack he took on his final play happened 3.1 seconds after he’d taken the snap. That’s too long.

The same goes for the time Maye is taking to organize and break the huddle, then get to the line. In time, he should get there. And when he does, provided he’s still making enough sound decisions and deciphers coverage well enough, his talent and playmaking will shine; just as we saw for stints Thursday night.

Beyond Maye, here are the Herald’s film observations from the Patriots’ latest preseason game:

Studs

DL Keion White

White was a bit out of control on certain rushes, but there was no doubt who the most dangerous defender was on most Patriots’ defensive snaps. He recorded a sack, a hurry and punished Eagles guards as an interior rusher on third down.

New England Patriots defensive end Keion White (99) rushes Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett, left, as Cam Jurgens blocks during the first half of an NFL preseason game Thursday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

OLB Anfernee Jennings

The next man up with Matthew Judon off to Atlanta, Jennings tallied one hurry and a run stuff in nine defensive snaps.

Duds

OG/C Liam Fornadel

The CFL alumnus, who recently moved from guard to center, fired two bad snaps, including the game-clincher.

OG Atonio Mafi

Mafi didn’t play until the fourth quarter and gave up a sack in 10 pass-blocking snaps. He also struggled last week versus Carolina.

CB Marcellas Dial

Rough night. The sixth-round rookie allowed a half-dozen catches in coverage.

Offensive notes

Before Maye took the field, Brissett played three drives, all of which ended on bad third-down plays. He underthrew tight end Austin Hooper on a corner route, then fired an interception at Hooper and slipped on his last dropback, forcing him to rush a misfire to DeMario Douglas.

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett hands off to running back Rhamondre Stevenson during the first half Thursday. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Brissett’s interception was the real killer with bad play on both ends. Brissett should have hit Hooper on his stick-nod route a beat earlier or thrown it away. Hooper also stopped running at the moment he felt contact in the end zone, something he’s done a few times during camp, including one play that also resulted in an interception.
To the point of Maye playing faster, in the preseason, he’s averaged six yards per attempt on dropbacks that last 2.5 seconds or less, per Pro Football Focus, and half that when he’s holding the ball longer. A tiny sample, but possibly an illustrative one.
Sticking with the numbers: the flip side of “what if Baker caught that deep ball” is 23 of Maye’s 47 yards came on a running back screen against a busted coverage. Maye only wins the job if he continues to build on Thursday, not if he maintains.
At running back, Rhamondre Stevenson showed impressive leg drive and pad level, fighting for 14 of his 18 yards after contact.

Drake Maye still could win Patriots’ Week 1 starting QB competition

At receiver, Baker looks awfully raw at times. He was forced out of bounds on one go ball, dropped the third-quarter deep pass and couldn’t separate on a slant.
None of the other wideouts flashed, save for Ja’Lynn Polk, who made two tacklers miss in the flat before picking up six yards in the first half. His game isn’t built on avoiding tacklers, though; as seen on his second catch which started in the opposite flat and went for zero yards.
Rookie tight end Jaheim Bell got man-handled as a run-blocker. Not his strong suit.
Up front, right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor enjoyed a bounce-back performance. He blocked for Maye on one drive, then exited with Onwenu, leaving only left tackle Vederian Lowe and left guard Sidy Sow for the remainder of Maye’s possessions.
The Patriots have serious O-line problems. Only David Andrews (who lasted three series) can be reliably counted on to deliver consistent snaps, and the Patriots have no viable left tackle.
Lowe allowed one sack and a QB hit; though it should be noted running back Kevin Harris chipped Eagles rusher Nolan Smith back inside on the sack, helping him get away.
Please slide, Joe Milton.

Player stats

Broken tackles: Polk 2, Stevenson 2 Harris 2, RB Ja’Mycal Hasty 2, RB Terrell Jennings 2
Drops: Baker, Jennings, TE La’Michael Pettway
Sacks allowed: Lowe, Anderson, Mafi
QB hits allowed: Lowe
Hurries allowed: C Nick Leverett, OG Layden Robinson, OT Caedan Wallace, Anderson, Harris, Jennings
Run stuffs allowed: Team 4, Onwenu

Defensive notes

Another preseason game, another dominant night up front.
The Patriots, who deployed roughly half their defensive starters for multiple series, posted five sacks and held the Eagles’ backups to 2.8 yards per carry in the first half.
Credit starts with White and Jennings, followed by a fearless effort from linebacker Raekwon McMillan (game-high eight tackles). McMillan blew up multiple runs, throwing himself into Eagles linemen with full force.

New England Patriots linebacker Raekwon McMillan during the first half of a reseason NFL game in Foxboro on Thursday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

McMillan also played a few snaps on the edge, a small reflection of the Patriots’ likely plan to replace Judon. Multiple linebackers, starting with Tavai on Thursday, will rotate on the edge depending on the structure of their front.
Ideally, Jennings or Joshua Uche (one sack) would soak up all of Judon’s snaps in a 1-or-1 replacement, but each player is below-average against the pass and run, respectively. Uche also played into the third quarter.
The Patriots may also increase Deatrich Wise’s snaps, though he will limit their ability to drop their edge defenders in coverage; something Tavai did blanketing a wheel route in the first half to force a red-zone incompletion.
Rising edge rusher Oshane Ximines is still tracking to make the team. He added another sack on a hustle play in the second half.
Mixed bag for the Patriots’ backup defensive tackles, who are under a spotlight with Christian Barmore out. Veterans Mike Purcell and Armon Watts took steps forward, while Daniel Ekuale and Trysten Hill went backwards. Jeremiah Pharms looks assured of a roster spot.
While Dial got roasted in coverage, cornerbacks Alex Austin and Marco Wilson – both ahead of him on the depth chart – proved their physicality and tackling chops. Austin blew up a screen, and Wilson wrapped up well on two solo stops.
Still waiting for a dominant Christian Gonzalez showing this summer.

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Player stats

Pass breakups: CB Azizi Hearn
Sacks: White, Wise, Uche, Ximines, Bolden
QB hits: DL Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
Hurries: Team 2, Jennings, White, Wise, DL Mike Purcell, DL Armon Watts, OLB William Bradley-King
Run stuffs: Jennings, McMillan, Team
Missed tackles: LB Joe Giles-Harris 2, DL Trysten Hill, Dial, Elliss, Hearn

Special teams

Veteran journeyman Joey Slye has made the kicking competition a dead heat. He made field goals from 51 and 45 yards, while splitting kickoffs with Chad Ryland, who hit an extra point.
Here are your core special teamers, all of whom started on at least three of four units (kickoff, kick return, punt and punt return): Brenden Schooler, Christian Elliss, Raekwon McMillan, Jaylinn Hawkins, Isaiah Bolden, JaMycal Hasty and Oshane Ximines.