Jacoby Brissett suffers a shoulder injury in a heavy blow in the Patriots' final game of the season

BOSTON – Jacoby Brissett started the Patriots' final preseason game against the Commanders on Sunday night, but the veteran quarterback played just one series after suffering a hard hit to his right shoulder during his final practice before the regular season.

With Brissett likely to begin the regular season as New England's No. 1 quarterback, the last thing the Patriots wanted to see was see him take a major hit on Sunday night. But Brissett was taken down by Washington's KJ Henry after New England's offensive line fell apart on a play.

Patriots left guard Sidy Sow ran into rookie right guard Layden Robinson on the play, giving Henry the opportunity to hit Brissett hard. Henry did just that, sending Brissett hard to the turf for a loss of seven yards. Brissett stayed in the game but was visibly shaken after the hit.

Brissett got good protection from his line two plays later and didn't seem to mind his shoulder as he delivered a nice long ball downfield to KJ Osborn. But the receiver tried to catch the pass one-handed and it fell incomplete, robbing the New England offense of a big play.

That was it for Brissett, who took the spot for rookie Drake Maye after that one series. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said after the team's 20-10 loss that Brissett “could have kept going,” and Brissett said he was “good.”

“We'll see tomorrow. The next day you always have more pain, but he said he was fine,” Mayo said.

Brissett completed 2 of 4 passes for 19 yards against the Commanders, capping off a lackluster preseason. In the three practice games, Brissett completed just 5 of 15 passes for 38 yards and one interception in the red zone.

Maye led the Patriots to an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown on his first drive of the game, with a 19-yard touchdown that gave New England a 7-0 lead. He was 13 of 20 passing for 126 yards on the night and looked calm and composed in his final preseason outing.

So who will start in Week 1 against the Bengals? Mayo called Maye the team's “second-best quarterback” on Sunday night, which gives us a really good indication that Brissett will get the nod.

Now the Patriots have to find a way to improve the play of their offensive line, otherwise it really won't matter who plays quarterback for New England.