Patriots
Saturday’s game ended with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots and Packers’ preseason game at Lambeau Field 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.
The team released an official statement following the early conclusion of Saturday’s game.
“Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden sustained an injury during the fourth quarter of tonight’s game. He had feeling in all his extremities, but has been taken to a local hospital for further tests and observation.”
The cornerback inadvertently collided with teammate Calvin Munson while trying to break up a pass play against the Packers. Bolden immediately dropped to the field motionless, with the entire Patriots team eventually gathered around him.
While Bolden was being placed on the cart, Bill Belichick conferred with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, longtime New England captain Matthew Slater and referee John Hussey. After Bolden was taken off the field, both the Patriots and Packers agreed to end the game early.
“Upon mutual agreement of the teams, tonight’s game between the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers has been suspended,” the Patriots announced in a team statement.
More info to come..
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Follow along here for live updates from Saturday’s preseason matchup and check back once the game wraps for some early observations.
LIVE UPDATES:
11:13: Patriots issue update on Isaiah Bolden:
10:54: Wow, with 10:29 left in the game — the game is being called off after Bolden’s injury.
Patriots win, 21-17, but the more concerning thing right now is Bolden’s health.
More to come.
10:45: Isaiah Bolden is being taken off in a cart. Awful, awful sight.
10:42: A very scary sequence — as Isaiah Bolden is down on the field.
10:31: A rushing score from Bailey Zappe gives New England a 21-17 lead. Nice play on a 4th-and-2 situation.
10:20: J.J. Taylor continues to make plays happen on the ground.
10:16: Malik Cunningham continues to get extended looks at wide receiver.
10:08: That was a nice punt from Corliss Waitman. The punter position has been one of the better battles so far during the preseason.
10:02: Nice block from Matt Sokol leads to a nice pickup from J.J. Taylor.
9:58: Cunningham is being used all over the field — wideout, special-teams gunner, punt returner. We’ll see if he’s used at QB later on.
9:42: Halftime Stats:
JONES: 6/9, 52 yards
ZAPPE: 3/8, 59 yards, TD
STEVENSON: 4 carries, 27 yards, TD
BOUTTE: 1 catch, 42 yards, TD
BOURNE: 3 catches: 34 yards
DOUGLAS: 2 catches, 17 yards
GONZALEZ: 4 tackles
JACK JONES: PBU
9:42: HALFTIME — Packers lead the Patriots, 17-14.
9:41: Tre Nixon has officially been ruled out with a shoulder injury.
9:40: Green Bay takes a 17-14 lead with one second left in the first half.
9:35: Patriots with an interception, but Gonzalez is whisted for a penalty. Tough break for the rookie, who had pretty coverage and broke up the play at the last second.
9:32: Tie game. Kayshon Boutte with a 42-yard touchdown off the throw from Zappe. Nice response for the rookie, who had an impressive burst after the catch.
9:28: Tre Nixon is hurt. Looked really ugly on the replay.
9:26: Sure feels like Douglas is a roster lock:
9:20: Nice open-field tackle from Christian Gonzalez.
9:16: Jalen Mills keeps stacking positive plays. A timely tackle forces a 4th and inches for New England.
9:11: Malik Cunningham gets his first snap as a wideout. Zappe couldn’t hit him while on the run.
9:10: Another 60-yard boot from Bryce Baringer.
9:07: Mac Jones finishes the night 6-of-9 on throws for 52 yards. All things considered, a solid showing. Still, that pass protection was brutal.
9:05: Not a great series from Josh Uche. Run defense continues to be an issue.
9:04: Mac Jones’ day is done. Bailey Zappe coming into the game.
9:03: And now, the Patriots defense gives up yet another touchdown — this time with Jordan Love on the sidelines. 14-7 Packers.
8:57: Two straight drives completely thwarted by poor tackle play. Jones still struggles with picking up pressure, but not sure what you can do on those two sacks.
8:55: And then a strip sack on Jones. Backup LT Andrew Stueber was just man-handled on that pass rush.
8:52: Great pickup by Kendrick Bourne. Three catches for him tonight.
8:50: End First: 7-7 game.
8:49: Demario Douglas with back-to-back catches. The rookie finally pops in preseason action. A strong throw from Jones earlier in the drive — but it falls just ahead of DeVante Parker.
8:45: Packers tie it up. Not the best showing from New England’s defense — but Jordan Love threw two lasers on that drive.
8:42: Dumb play by Sam Roberts. Not a good series so far from New England. Can’t land on the QB during a slide.
8:40: Green Bay challenges that catch — and the call is overturned. Nice recovery by Bolden — but it a grew throw by Love.
8:35: Huge boot from Bryce Baringer there. 61-yards.
8:33: Kendrick Bourne has been all over the place today. Nice block along with his two catches.
8:32: Sidy Sow just got man-handled on that pass rush from Enagbare. 4th down for the Patriots offense.
8:30: Elliott has drawn most of the headlines this week, but Rhamondre Stevenson is pretty good in his own right. 23-yard pickup.
8:27: Another look at Stevenson’s TD run.
8:25: Good discipline by New England’s defense not to bite on that 4th-and-4. New England’s offense takes over again.
8:22: Jalen Mills continues to look pretty good in the middle of the field as a third safety.
Packers ultimately get the first down off a good throw from Love. Jack Jones in tight coverage.
8:18: A brutal miscue by the Packers – but good on the Patriots for taking advantage. A nice start in the red zone.
8:15: Rhamondre Stevenson runs it in. Folk’s kick is good. 7-0 Patriots.
8:14: Nice play by Kendrick Bourne and Mac Jones. First down. Slant route on an RPO.
8:13: New England’s starters.
8:12: Trent Brown, woof. A false start to open this drive.
8:11: Green Bay, woooof. Love fumbles the snap and Uche recovers the ball. Nice start for the defense.
8:11: Jabrill Peppers brings the thump on that pass breakup.
8:10: New England’s defense:
8:07: Jack Jones starting with Christian Gonzalez as the outside corners.
8:06: We’re underway in Green Bay.
8:03: Good that it’s not a long-term injury, but still a tough break for Thornton after one of his better practices.
7:58: Looks like Bentley is standing in for McCourty as the new hype man on defense:
7:35: Your starting O-line:
7:32: A look at the projected inactives for tonight:
7:25: Good sign for Keion White:
7:23: The special teams battles also will be fascinating to watch. Rookie kicker Chad Ryland has the stronger leg, but Nick Folk has still been more accurate over shorter distances.
Fellow rookie Bryce Baringer offers the highest ceiling at the punter position, but veteran Corliss Waitman was a bit better this week during joint practices.
7:21: A sign of things to come in this game?
7:11: With both Cole Strange and Mike Onwenu still out, expectations should still be tempered a bit in terms of the state of this O-line. Riley Reiff could get some reps at RG tonight, while rookie Sidy Sow could open the game at right tackle.
7:09: Gonzalez and Keion White stand at the forefront of New England’s rookie class on defense, but Saturday could also be Marte Mapu’s debut. The rookie linebacker has been limited this preseason while recovering from offseason surgery, but has shed his non-contact jersey as of late. He has seen plenty of time with New England’s first-team defense.
7:03: It’s to be expected that Bailey Zappe will follow Mac Jones under center as Saturday’s game continues. But what about Malik Cunningham? The rookie was one of the few bright spots on offense last week against Houston, and has continue to be used in a variety of roles during practice this week.
6:41: Seeing a lot of starters on both sides of the ball will be intriguing, but it won’t mean all that much if New England’s O-line doesn’t bounce back. Even with Trent Brown potentially set to return, Jones was still sacked five times during Thursday’s joint practice.
6:39: Looks like we will get an extended look from Jones and New England’s starters tonight.
6:37: Christian Gonzalez soaking it all in before his first game in Green Bay. The rookie had a rough go of it on Wednesday during joint practices, but bounced back the following day with a pass break-up in the end zone.
6:36: The Patriots secondary was regularly jawing with the Packers throughout joint practices, led by Jabrill Peppers. One shouldn’t expect more scraps, but I imagine the trash talking will continue.
One guy to keep tabs on is Jack Jones, who currently leads the Patriots in camp with 11 pass breakups.
6:35: Another offensive weapon to keep tabs on? Demario Douglas. He’s been one of the starts of training camp, but the rookie wideout only earned limited reps last week against Houston. Will be interesting to see if he is more involved in the offense tonight, especially if Jones is under center.
6:33: Ezekiel Elliott could also get some run tonight as Rhamondre Stevenson’s backup. On Thursday, Elliott logged 14 snaps during 11-on-11 drills.
6:30: If Mac Jones and the Patriots starters do indeed get some reps on Saturday, it will be interesting to see how Jones builds off of what was arguably one of his best practices as a Patriot. During Thursday’s competitive session, Jones was 14-of-17 against the Packers, connecting with DeVante Parker on a 50-yard touchdown bomb to close out a two-minute drill.
6:25: Will be interesting to see how chippy tonight’s contest will be, especially after Thursday’s practice featured eight scraps and scrums between New England and Green Bay.
“We came out here to get better. I believe Green Bay wanted to get better,” Matt Judon said on Thursday. “We don’t put [boxing] gloves on for a living. We’re not boxers. We’re not fighters. We came out here to get better and improve in our craft.
“If any of that happened in a game, we would’ve all been kicked out. We would’ve been playing with like 17 players. That stuff can’t happen. You have to be a professional. We came here to play football and that’s what we eventually got to.”
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Originally posted 2023-08-19 22:14:00.