Jacoby Brissett says he cried three times before Patriots' Week 1 win over Bengals
BOSTON -- Jacoby Brissett admitted that his emotions were high ahead of Sunday's upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals, which had the Patriots quarterback in tears three times before the New England offense even took the field.
Brissett was all smiles after helping the Patriots to a 16-10 win on Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium. But before the game, he was a bit of a mess.
At least they were happy tears, as Brissett explained after the game. At 31, he isn't taking anything for granted at this point in his career -- especially a Week 1 start.
"I think I cried three times before the game. I cried when I got to the stadium," Brissett admitted after the victory.
A journeyman quarterback now in his ninth NFL season, being a team's starter is not something that Brissett takes lightly. The Patriots know that and have embraced Brissett as the starter, a role he won after a summer battle with rookie Drake Maye. There have been cries to start Maye after he looked better than Brissett in preseason action, but head coach Jerod Mayo turned to Brissett because of his full body of work over the summer.
That was a shot of confidence from his rookie head coach, and Brissett received another one from Mayo on Sunday. That, in turn, led to more waterworks for the quarterback.
"I cried when Mayo came up to me before the game. He started laughing, he's like, 'You're about to win us this game. You're about to ball out.' I had never heard that from a coach," explained Brissett. "That meant a lot to me."
Sunday was the 49th start for Brissett over 80 career games. But being a team's starter has never been a guarantee for him, so he once again teared up before taking the field for the Patriots on Sunday.
"Then I cried when we were going out there on offense," Brissett said. "My emotions were definitely high. It's definitely a moment that I just can't take for granted. These things don't come by often."
Brissett got his emotions in check and completed 15 of his 24 passes for 121 yards against the Bengals. He also picked up some a few key first downs with his legs, scrambling for 32 yards on seven carries. Three of those "carries" were when Brissett and the Patriots lined up in the victory formation to kill the clock at the end of the game.
"It was great," Mayo said of his quarterback's performance. "He made plays with his legs, he made plays with his arm. H's a tough guy. You could tell he took some hits in the game -- I'm just like, 'Man, get up.' But he did everything that we asked him to do in the week, and we came out of here with the victory."
It was far from perfect for Brissett and the Patriots. He nearly threw and end zone pick in the first half, which fell incomplete after tight end Hunter Henry pried it out of the defender's hands. But Brissett showed a lot of veteran poise in the face of the Cincy pass rush, and helped set up the New England ground attack that let the Patriots control the clock for Sunday's contest. It's one of the reason's Mayo opted to go with the veteran over the third overall pick as his starting QB.
And there were no tears at the podium after the victory, just a very chipper quarterback for a 1-0 football team.
"It was awesome, man," Brissett said of the win. "You know, that's a great team win right there. You know, in all three phases of the game, everybody stepped up when we needed them to step up."