FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Drake Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, played one series in his debut with New England on Thursday night, and the Patriots played their first game in 24 years without Bill Belichick as coach, beating the Carolina Panthers 17-3 in a preseason game.
New England's new coach, 38-year-old Jerod Mayo, dressed in a white short-sleeved Patriots' pullover, became the NFL's youngest coach when he was hired on Jan. 12, one day after Belichick agreed to depart as coach and left the organization.
It was the first time since Jan. 2, 2000, that the Patriots played without Belichick on the sideline. He led them to six Super Bowl titles.
''That was always the plan,'' Mayo said of Maye's short stint. ''The plan was to get him in there for one series.''
Carolina also played its first game under a new coach, with Dave Canales making his debut as the franchise's seventh.
''Tonight was about our first-time guys, the rookies, the guys that haven't had a chance to play in the NFL. I think what they found tonight is: it's just football. They ran and they played hard,'' Canales said after not playing any of his first-teamers. ''For me, it was just a great opportunity to be able to talk to the coaches, talk to the officials. ... It was just great reps for me to just get the flow how the communication happens and being able to work all through that."
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, didn't play. Projected backup Andy Dalton was sidelined with a strained quadriceps.
Maye trotted onto the field with light rain falling for the Patriots' second series and got a nice ovation from the sparse crowd. He completed his first attempt, a screen to Antonio Gibson for 13-yard pickup. He was high on his first throw down the field, ending his night 2 for 3 for 19 yards.
