The pre-season is over and the future looks bright for the Patriots.

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye had some exciting moments in the Patriots preseason finale on Sunday night. The No. 3 overall pick showed off his athleticism and arm strength against the Washington Commanders.

It was an exciting showcase of what could happen in New England in the coming seasons. Of course, we still don’t know if Maye will start or play this season.

In Sunday night’s final practice game, expected starter Jacoby Brissett also suffered a right shoulder injury as a result of poor play by the offensive line.

The Patriots o-line had a terrible first half with a laundry list of mistakes. These mistakes led to Brissett’s injury and even a neutralized touchdown by Maye. The Patriots can only hope that Brissett’s injury is not serious and that the team’s offensive line improves this fall.

Here’s a look at who’s on the rise and who’s on the decline with the regular season just two weeks away:

Drake Maye

Maye took over for Brissett on the Patriots’ second drive and it didn’t take long for him to show what he was made of.

After a bad snap left the Patriots in a hole, Maye took off and ran 17 yards on third-and-14. Two plays later, he hit rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk for a 29-yard gain. Then, on third-and-8, Maye connected with DeMario “Pop” Douglas for a 16-yard completion.

Two plays later, rookie quarterback Kevin Harris hit the ball and the running back made multiple defenders miss the ball en route to an 18-yard touchdown with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.

After the score, former Patriots receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss tweeted, “Youngin looking good huh?”

On that first drive, Maye completed 5 of 6 passes for 71 yards with the touchdown.

On his second drive, Maye lost his left shoe on the first snap when left guard Sidy Sow stepped on his foot. However, the young quarterback still connected with running back JaMychal Hasty for a gain of 14 yards.

That drive went nowhere as the offense suffered a false start, a botched screen pass and an illegal formation penalty (on a third-down play that yielded zero yards).

Maye’s next two drives also resulted in punts, while the Patriots offensive line struggled mightily. The group was called for four penalties in those two series.

On the next series, Maye had several nice throws, but not all of them counted due to penalties. He hit Javon Baker for a gain of 16 yards, then connected with Polk for a 13-yard pass, which was neutralized due to a holding call. Two plays later, Maye hit KJ Osborn for a touchdown pass of 48 yards, but it was neutralized due to an illegal formation penalty on Chuks Okorafor.

Despite the blunders on the offensive line, the rookie quarterback appeared calm. Maye completed 13/20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Reserve running backs

The Patriots didn’t play Rhamondre Stevenson on Sunday, but the running backs turned in an encouraging performance.

Antonio Gibson started the game and had one series. He picked up a first down with a 13-yard catch and run. He also ran the ball three times for 17 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

Gibson is a fixture on the roster, but Kevin Harris and JaMychal Hasty aren’t. Both backup running backs were strong candidates for spots on the Patriots’ 53-man roster. Harris had one of the highlights of the night when he caught a pass in the flat, made one defender miss and then leaped over another for an 18-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.

Hasty was also one of the most productive players for the Patriots on Sunday, rushing four times for 21 yards (5.3 yards per carry) and catching three passes for 24 yards.

Bubble linebacker selection

The preseason finale is reserved primarily for players fighting for a roster spot. On defense, the Patriots cut projected starting linebackers Jahlani Tavai and Ja’Whaun Bentley. That led to more playing time for linebackers fighting for a job.

On Sunday, the Patriots got encouraging performances from Joe Giles-Harris and Christian Ellis.

Giles-Harris intercepted Commanders quarterback Jeff Driskel at 8:33 of the second quarter. The linebacker, who worked his way into the Patriots’ top defense in practice, has had a solid training camp in Foxborough. Giles-Harris also had five tackles.

Elliss was a core special teams player for the Patriots late last season. On Sunday, he played well on defense. Elliss led the Patriots in tackles with 11 before leaving the game with a head injury.

Offensive line

The Patriots debuted a new offensive line on Sunday night — and while it looked promising at first, the play on the field was anything but encouraging.

The team started with Michael Onwenu (right tackle), Layden Robinson (right guard), Nick Leverett (center), Sidy Sow (left guard) and Chuks Okorafor (left tackle). In the first half, the offensive line had a laundry list of missteps – sack allowed, two bad snaps, a false start, three holding penalties, four illegal formation penalties (one denied a touchdown) and someone even moved a quarterback’s shoe.

On the first drive, at 12:30, Sow ran into Robinson, allowing Commanders defensive end KJ Henry to execute a clean sack on a shell-shocked Brissett.

On the second drive, Maye’s first snap was a bad snap by Leverett for a loss of eight yards. Leverett had another bad snap that drive for a loss of three yards. Two plays later, Robinson missed a block on Commanders defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who brought down Hasty for a loss of two yards.

On the third series, Sow stepped on Maye’s left foot and the quarterback lost his shoe. One play later, Robinson was called for a false start. The drive ended on a play that resulted in zero yards, but Okorafor was called for an illegal formation (which was declined). On the fourth series, Okorafor was called for another illegal formation penalty (which was also declined).

On the fifth series, the Patriots were assessed two holding penalties, one for Robinson and one for Sow on third down. At the same time, Onwenu was assessed for illegal formation (both penalties were disallowed).

On the sixth series, Sow left the field with an ankle injury. His replacement, Michael Jordan, was flagged for a hold. On that drive, Maye hit KJ Osborn for a 48-yard touchdown, but it was negated by Okorafor’s third illegal formation penalty.

Jacoby Brissett

It wasn’t his fault, but Brissett’s evening didn’t go as planned.

The veteran quarterback played one series before suffering a right shoulder injury.

Brissett’s first drive looked promising after the quarterback hit Antonio Gibson for a 13-yard play on third-and-5. After Gibson picked up another first down on the ground, the Patriots found themselves at midfield. That’s where things went wrong.

At 12:30 of the first quarter, Commanders defensive lineman KJ Henry was unblocked when guard Sidy Sow ran into guard Layden Robinson and gave Brissett a crushing sack. The veteran quarterback appeared shocked as he landed hard on his left shoulder. Brissett threw two passes on the next two snaps and had a nice deep pass on third down that fell incomplete when KJ Osborn failed to get both hands on the ball.

Brissett appeared to be in pain and on the next offensive series, the Patriots opted to sit him out. The team announced that he had suffered a right shoulder injury. The veteran quarterback finished 2 of 4 for 19 yards that night.

Brissett played in five offensive drives this preseason. His group scored zero points.

Azizi hears

It was a tough season finale for Azizi Hearn.

The cornerback is fighting for a roster spot — and most likely a spot on the Patriots practice squad. Sunday night may not help his chances.

Late in the fourth quarter, Hearn attempted to tackle quarterback Trace McSorley, but the Commanders backup hit Hearn with his right shoulder, sending the cornerback to the ground. The Washington sideline went wild. Hearn had a chance to redeem himself, but on the next play, the cornerback was flagged for pass interference. That cost the defense 19 yards.

Three plays later, McSorley beat Hearn for a 4-yard touchdown to Martavis Bryant at 3:10 of the fourth quarter.