FOXBORO, Mass. — After a fracas-filled week of practice, the Patriots and Panthers settled for a wrestling match Friday night.
The Pats won their second preseason game, a physical 20-10 finish at Gillette Stadium. Mac Jones steered the starting offense into a pair of three-and-outs before reaching the end zone on his third and final drive of the night. He finished 4 of 8 for 61 yards, including a 45-yard bomb to Nelson Agholor in the second quarter.
Three plays after they connected, veteran receiver/running back Ty Montgomery rushed in a 2-yard touchdown. Kickers Nick Folk and Tristan Vizcaino each drilled a field goal in the middle quarters. Vizcaino’s 51-yarder in the third proved to be the game-winner.
After Jones exited with a 7-3 lead in the second quarter, backup quarterback Brian Hoyer led one series that stumbled into a punt. Rookie Bailey Zappe (16-of-25 passing, 173 yards, INT) took over near the 2-minute warning and played the rest of the game.
Offensive line coach Matt Patricia called plays from start to finish.
Carolina’s only touchdown came off a Zappe pick-six in the third quarter. Zappe rolled left and fired into Tae Hayes’ tight 1-on-1 coverage along the sideline, then lost his helmet as he attempted to stop Hayes with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
Defensively, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley tied for the team lead with six tackles despite playing just three series. Deatrich Wise and Josh Uche tallied sacks on back-to-back snaps in the first quarter. Undrafted rookie linebacker DaMarcus Mitchell knocked the Panthers out with a strip sack in the end zone at 1:17 remaining, a fumble he recovered and scored himself.
Outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings also dropped Carolina’s P.J. Walker for a sack in the fourth quarter, when Ronnie Perkins and Jeremiah Phrams Jr. split one.
Backup safety Joshuah Bledsoe forced and recovered a fumble at the end of the second quarter, before fellow reserve Shaun Wade grabbed a freebie interception on the Panthers’ opening drive of the second half and undrafted rookie Brenden Schooler snatched his own in the final minute.
The Patriots offense went to work shorthanded, with offensive tackle Trent Brown and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne missing for reasons unknown. Their absences compounded problems along the offensive line, where the Pats were already down five players, plus tight end Hunter Henry. Issues in pass protection revealed themselves almost immediately when Panthers linebacker Julian Stanford sacked Jones to kill the Patriots’ opening drive.
On their second series, Rhamondre Stevenson rushed up the middle for a short gain, Jones overthrew Jakobi Meyers and failed to hit Stevenson coming out of the backfield. Carolina answered by breaking the scoreless tie with Zane Gonzalez’s 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter. Then, finally, on their third possession, Jones and Co. established a rhythm.
Facing third-and-5, Jones hit Agholor for seven yards to move the chains, then handed off to Montgomery for six, found Montgomery in the left flat for five more and uncorked a high-arching to Agholor down the left sideline that covered half the field. That connection pulled the Patriots inside the red zone, where Montgomery capped the drive with a couple hard runs.
Here were the best and worst Patriots performances from Friday:
Best
— LB Ja’Whaun Bentley: The leader of the linebacking corps totaled six tackles in just three series, including one TFL on a screen he blew up for a 4-yard loss.
— WR Nelson Agholor: Agholor’s 45-yard catch in the second quarter is the highlight of the team’s preseason so far. He also converted a third down earlier in the drive with a 7-yard reception from Jones.
— S Brenden Schooler: The undrafted rookie recorded one interception, a special teams tackle and downed a punt at Carolina’s 3-yard line.
Worst
— Running game: The Patriots labored at the line of scrimmage regardless of who took carries.
— WR Josh Hammond: Hammond saw three targets and didn’t catch one. He was the only wideout to see a pass and not finish with a reception.
