Patriots QB Drake Maye suffers head injury vs. Chargers

FOXBOROUGH – That’s not the way the Patriots wanted to start this game.

Drake Maye suffered a head injury three snaps into Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers and left for the locker room. The team ruled him questionable to return.

The injury happened when the Patriots quarterback dropped back to pass on third-and-4. On the play, Demontrey Jacobs was beat off the edge. That forced Maye to roll right and attempt to run and gain the first down. After stepping out of bounds, for a 2-yard loss, Maye was hit in the helmet by Chargers cornerback Cam Hart at 10:25 of the first quarter.

The rookie quarterback hit the turf hard and was down for a moment. When he stood up, the Gillette Stadium crowd cheered. Maye made his way back to the Patriots bench where he sat next to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. However, Maye was soon sent to the blue medical tent. After several minutes, Maye left for the locker room.

This marks the second time this season that Maye’s suffered a head injury. The same thing happened in Week 8 against the New York Jets. Jacoby Brissett took over for the rookie and led the Patriots to a comeback win against their division rival.

Maye’s scrambling ability has been a hot topic. Van Pelt previously said the Patriots didn’t want to call designed run plays for the rookie to protect him. That changed last week in Buffalo.

• BETTING: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.