10 Patriots takeaways after Saturday’s preseason game against the Packers

Patriots

Mac Jones and a number of Patriots starters made their 2023 preseason debuts on Saturday.

Mac Jones completed six of his nine pass attempts on Saturday night. Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

COMMENTARY

The Patriots and Packers’ preseason game at Lambeau Field on Saturday ended with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter following a scary injury involving rookie corner Isaiah Bolden.

The Patriots were leading, 21-17, at the time of Bolden’s injury.

Here are 10 takeaways from New England’s second preseason matchup of the 2023 season.

1. Bolden’s health stands at the forefront

The most important result on Saturday has little to do with the gains made by Mac Jones or miscues committed across other areas of the roster.

On a night where both the Patriots and Packers opted to end their preseason game following a frightening and emotional sequence involving a promising rookie corner, all of the focus postgame revolved around the health of Bolden.

“The last situation kind of, in the bigger picture, overrode the game,” Bill Belichick said. “All saying a prayer for Isaiah. … Appreciated the way the league handled it. I think that was the right thing to do. … Kind of regroup and talk about the game later. But that’s kind of where things are for right now.”

After announcing after the game’s early conclusion that Bolden was taken to a local hospital for observation and had feeling in his extremities, the Patriots released another update just after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.

The statement read: “Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden will be held overnight at a local hospital in Green Bay for observation. To set expectations, we plan to provide an update on his condition by 8 a.m. on Sunday.”

“He’s been a joy to be around,” Slater said of Bolden. “He’s a young man with a lot of talent, but he’s a young man that’s always got a smile on his face, is always positive, is always bringing great energy, great effort to practice. And he’s been like a sponge.

“I mean, we’ve asked him to do a lot for our football team and he’s been eager and excited to do it. Obviously I’m biased — he’s a JSU Tiger. So I love having a HBCU guy here, especially one that went to my parent’s school. Yeah, he’s been great. All the guys love him. He’s fit into our locker room seamlessly.”

2. First-team offense starts strong …

Saturday marked the first preseason reps for Mac Jones and several expected starters on offense, and the early returns were positive.

A fumble on the Packers’ first drive of the game gave Jones and Co. favorable field position on their first drive, with Jones completing two passes to Kendrick Bourne before Rhamondre Stevenson punched his way into the end zone for an early lead.

It was a positive start for the Bill O’Brien-led offense, with New England gaining a first down off of an RPO slant from Bourne. The one miscue on the initial drive was a false start on Trent Brown that sapped some early momentum.

3. … until O-zone woes sprout up

As positive as New England’s start was, the next two drives led by Jones were completely undone by porous play on the offensive line.

With Cole Strange and Michael Onwenu still sidelined, the Patriots had to reshuffle things on their O-line once again on Saturday, with younger players like Andrew Stueber, Sidy Sow, and Atonio Mafi handed extended reps.

It didn’t lead to positive results for the Patriots.

New England was forced to punt on their second drive after Sow was pushed aside by Kingsley Enagbare en route to a nine-yard sack against Jones. During the next drive, Stueber was beaten clean — leading to a strip sack against Jones and a turnover for New England.

Yes, the fortitude of New England’s O-line can’t be completely judged until impact starters like Strange and Onwenu are back on the field.

But with veteran tackles like Conor McDermott and Calvin Anderson also sidelined — and the early returns not exactly positive for New England’s next crop of linemen — the Patriots’ depth at the tackle position stands as a potential Achilles heel for this roster.

And if Brown goes down with an injury? Look out.

4. Solid showing from Jones

After that strip sack, Jones was pulled from the game after three total drives.

New England’s QB1 completed six of his nine pass attempts for 52 yards, completing passes to Bourne (three catches), Demario Douglas (two catches), and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Along with two third-down conversions on his final drive, Jones uncorked a deep ball to DeVante Parker that the wideout neatly reeled in for a major gain.

Recognizing pressure has continued to be an issue for Jones, but it was still a positive showing from the Patriots QB, who had little time to throw given the O-line in front of him.

As far as other first-team regulars on offense, Bourne reeled in three catches for 34 yards and also doled out a block that sprung Stevenson for a 23-yard pickup.

Stevenson finished with 27 yards and a rushing score on the ground off of just four attempts.

5. First-team defense has ups and downs

On a night when New England’s defense rolled out most of its starters, the results were decidedly mixed.

The Patriots pounced on Jordan Love’s costly fumble on their first drive, leading to a recovery by Josh Uche and an eventual touchdown by Stevenson.

But Love later picked apart New England’s defense on Green Bay’s third drive, with the Packers’ new QB1 finishing with 84 passing yards off of five completions with a touchdown.

Green Bay’s next drive wasn’t all that much better for New England’s defense, with an eight-play, 57-yard sequence from the Packers ending with Uche losing the edge on a Patrick Taylor touchdown run.

In the first quarter alone, Green Bay averaged 4.7 yards per carry on the ground.

A very uneven start from a defense that figures to be the foundation of whatever success New England achieves this season.

6. Bailey Zappe uneven, but conducts two scoring drives

After Jones exited the game following his three drives, Bailey Zappe earned the rest of New England’s snaps under center.

Despite only completing 10 of 22 passes, the Patriots’ primary backup did account for two touchdowns on Saturday. After hitting Kayshon Boutte for a 42-yard touchdown in the second quarter, Zappe ended a 17-play, 83-yard drive by rushing into the end zone on a 4th-and-2 play.

J.J. Taylor (56 total yards) served as a steady source of offense, especially on that 17-play drive. He’s fighting for reps against second-year backs like Kevin Harris at this point in the preseason.

7. Malik Cunningham sees more time at wideout

After serving as one of the few bright spots on offense during last week’s preseason opener, Malik Cunningham continued to earn plenty of offensive snaps on Saturday … just not under center.

Cunningham was primarily utilized as a wide receiver as part of New England’s second-team offense, with Zappe making a concerted effort to get him the ball during the second half.

Cunningham ultimately finished with zero catches against five targets, but also saw some time on special teams — especially as a gunner and a kick returner. He didn’t see any snaps at quarterback, although it’s unclear if he would have shifted under center had the game continued.

8. Rookie wideouts make some noise

Demario Douglas once again saw limited snaps on Saturday, but still responded with two catches for 17 yards. Sure feels like he’s already made the team at this point, especially if the Patriots are making a concerted effort to limit just how much tape teams can get on the speedster.

Kayshon Boutte has continued to improve from his slow start in late July, with the rookie turning on the jets during his 42-yard touchdown score in the second quarter. Sure feels like the Patriots are going to have to keep six receivers on this roster once the preseason wraps.

9. Other absences and injuries

Several starters on both offense and defense made their preseason debuts on Saturday, but New England was still missing quite a few key contributors.

A few of the players not in uniform included Ty Montgomery, Jonathan Jones, Pierre Strong, Ronnie Perkins, Kody Russey, Cole Strange, Conor McDermott, and Mike Gesicki. Mike Onwenu remains on the PUP list with Cody Davis and Trey Flowers, while Calvin Anderson is still on the NFI list.

Ezekiel Elliott was active during Thursday’s joint practice in Green Bay, but he did not play on Saturday night. Rookies Marte Mapu and Keion White also did not play.

Tyquan Thornton was also ruled out after appearing to injure his shoulder earlier this week after hauling in a 45-yard catch from Jones during joint practices. According to Chris Price of The Boston Globe, Thornton is now in a “week-to-week” situation.

Wide receiver Tre Nixon had to leave the game in the first half after appearing to significantly injure his shoulder. He was immediately ruled out of the contest by the team shortly after making his way off the field. Not a good sign.

10. Odds and ends

A tough bit of luck for Christian Gonzalez, who recorded four tackles and played a pretty physical game in his second preseason outing with the Patriots. The 2023 first-round pick had a nice recovery on a pass break-up that should have led to a Patriots interception, but it was called back on a pretty soft call against Gonzalez.

A good showing from rookie punter Bryce Baringer after a pretty so-so performance during joint practices. Baringer’s first two punts went for 120 total yards, with the 2023 sixth-round pick showcasing his powerful boot as he tries to win a starting gig against veteran Corliss Waitman.

Not the best game from second-year defensive end Sam Roberts, who drew an unnecessary-roughness penalty after falling atop Love after the Packers QB was already in the midst of a slide.

Originally posted 2023-08-20 05:24:30.