It is difficult to find much to complain about in the wake of the 48-18 shellacking that the Patriots put on the Commanders in the opening of the team’s preseason games.

The evening started with the unveiling of the Tom Brady statue at Gillette Stadium and the game started with an electrifying kickoff return of 100 yards by rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson.

The game was never close, and the Patriots controlled throughout by racking up two interceptions, hammering out yards on the ground and dominating special teams.

But, well, it was not quite perfect, was it? That’s because, amid all the positivity that is on the scoreboard, the stat sheet itself shows that the most important barometer of this season–second-year quarterback Drake Maye–was less than stellar.He was not on the field much, but Maye was 3-for-5 passing, with a sack taken and a lost fumble, throwing for just 12 yards.Drake Maye Fumbles on Near SackIt was the fumble that was most concerning, of course.

The play came on a third-and-15 on the Patriots’ first series of the game, when Maye dropped back, was corralled by the ankle and attempted to throw the ball away. But as he went to throw, he coughed up the football. The Commanders recovered.The coach was not happy.“That’s a bad decision,” Vrabel said after the game. “I think we’re going to need better from him. I think he knows that. That’s obvious. It wasn’t there. We just have to be able to find a way to get rid of the football or take a sack and punt and play defense. But to the defense’s credit, they forced a field goal I think that was missed maybe.

It was a sudden-change opportunity.”Patriots Take Learning OpportunityMaye echoed the sentiment. Certainly, there is nothing to get to agitated by–it’s preseason, and perhaps a fumble like that is not a bad thing to learn from at this time of year.Maye was disappointed in himself, too.“I was excited to get out there,” Maye said. “TreVeyon [Henderson] takes it the hundred yards. It was pretty sweet. Yeah, you got a little bit of a drive going. Third down. Yeah, just can’t do that on my first time out. Glad we responded well that next drive.“Yeah, same time I’m glad it’s something that I can control. But at the end of the day you just can’t put the defense in that position when games matter, during the season. I told those guys it’s on me, we got to get back out there. Glad I was able to get another series going.”Patriots Running Game IntriguingIndeed, on the second series, led by Maye, the Patriots punched in a touchdown, covering 61 yards, though almost all was on the ground.

Maye was 1-for-3 passing on the drive, and had two very good scrambles, including one for the touchdown.Henderson accounted for 30 of the yards on the drive.

In fact, the Patriots accounted for 153 yards rushing on 31 attempts. The trio of Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson and Henderson could be daunting for defenses.“I think it’s tough on the defense,” Maye said. “They all can make you miss. They can run over you. They can catch balls out of the backfield. It’s going to be challenging for us on when to use ’em, how to use ’em, getting ’em the ball. Got to get those guys open in space. They’re great football players.”