BOSTON — Before Mac Jones broke last year, do you remember how he looked?

Jones successfully withstood waves of pressure in the New England Patriots’ season opener.

He navigated a sea of hurries and hits in Week 2.

In Week 3, he stood and faced the Jets, who took turns batting him around like a piñata.

Then, he fell apart, and the season was decided not long thereafter.

Nowadays Jacoby Brissett is walking that same path, except he’s managed to guide the Patriots to a 1-1 start instead of 0-2. He hasn’t committed a turnover yet, and is avoiding sacks at one of the best rates in the league. It’s Brissett’s calm and veteran savvy that has kept the Patriots offense from collapsing despite allowing pressure on almost half of its passing snaps.

Brissett is ducking and dodging rushers, scrambling and extending plays. No one is confusing him for any of the NFL’s great escape artists or a top-5 quarterback, but Brissett’s ability to prevent a bad situation – AKA the Patriots’ pass protection – from getting worse has been central to the team’s fast start.

But how long can Brissett keep this up? Longer than Jones did, to be sure.

Jones only faced pressure rates north of 30% against the Eagles, Dolphins and Jets, then lost his way. Brissett is older, tougher, wiser. But the pressure he’s encountering is also significantly higher.

The Seahawks hit or hurried Brissett on 48% of his dropbacks last Sunday, right after the Bengals pressured him 44% of the time in Week 1. Combined, they blitzed just six times. Six!

Worse yet, the Patriots may be on to their third left tackle, with third-round rookie Caedan Wallace – who played right tackle all throughout college – in line to possibly replace an injured Vederian Lowe on Thursday night.

“We’ll have to see,” Jerod Mayo said this week. “(Wallace)’s had some good snaps for us, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s next-man-up mentality. I know it sounds very cliché or very corny, but that’s the world we live in. This is the roster that we have, and we’re going to make do with it.”

That last line? Oof. A subtle shot, possibly, at personnel partner Eliot Wolf. Whether or not a shot was intended, it would be deserved.

In the offseason, the Patriots repeated the same mistakes that undercut their 2023 campaign: failing to add a starting-caliber left tackle and sufficient offensive line depth. They can’t protect Brissett, who will inevitably hand the reins to Drake Maye later this season.

Do you want Maye behind this line in its current state? Me neither.

Last year, the Pats failed Jones. He failed them. The ship sank. This season, it’s not too late to begin plugging holes, be it for Maye, Brissett or both. Because the Patriots cannot fail them.

Period.

Though, to Mayo’s point, the cavalry isn’t coming. The roster is the roster, the talent is the talent. Barring a miracle midseason trade, the Patriots must move forward with the linemen they have.

That means it’s on coaching, both in terms of developing players like Wallace, Lowe, Layden Robinson and Michael Jordan, and play-calling. New offensive line coach Scott Peters has done wonders run-blocking, but the hard work comes in pass protection.

As for offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, he can lend a hand here. His downfield passing concepts are simply taking too long to develop for this offensive line. Replace them with quick passes: three-step and five-step dropbacks that force the ball out of Brissett’s hands before the pass rush can close in.

Feature DeMario Douglas, who can maximize yards after the catch unlike any other Pats receiver, and generate explosive plays Van Pelt can’t scheme up right now. Feed Douglas on screens, pick-route combinations or both. Just get him in space.

It’s a hard ask against a defense that has held the Patriots to fewer than 11 offensive points per game the last two years, but there’s good news: the Pats might catch a small break Thursday.

The Jets have missed 27 tackles in two games, one of the highest figures in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Their pass rush ranks 25th by ESPN’s pass rush win rate and 26th at PFF. New York lost starting defensive end Jermaine Johnson to a torn Achilles last weekend, and Haason Reddick isn’t walking through that door to end his holdout.

Aside from All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, this is not a defensive front to fear. The Patriots will continue to pound away with their run game, ideally controlling the clock and the game. If they continue to protect the ball and minimize penalties, there’s a win awaiting them in New Jersey if they check one more box.

Protect your damn quarterback.

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