New England Patriots lose first preseason game to Carolina Panthers
By Nick Ziegler
The New England Patriots suffered their first loss of the preseason against the Carolina Panthers.
After a solid second week of the preseason for the New England Patriots, the team took a step back against the Carolina Panthers. In the somewhat important third preseason game, the Patriots didn’t look as sharp as they did the week prior.
Against Cam Newton and the Panthers, the starting defense had a hard time getting off the field. On the first drive of the game, the Panthers were on the field for over 10 minutes, but they were held to a field goal.
Even though the Patriots’ starting defense gave up a lot of yards to the Panthers, they were able to keep them out of the end zone. At the end of the half, it was extremely disappointing seeing how easily the Panthers moved the ball down the field on the Patriots with limited time on the clock. Carolina was able to get a field goal before halftime, and that is three points that should not have happened.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots weren’t as sharp as last week, but it was a decent showing. Tom Brady and the starters played the first half, and we even saw Rob Gronkowski make his preseason debut. The offense didn’t look great, but they didn’t play poorly.
Since this was the third preseason game, it will likely be the final time that we see any of the starters for New England. For Julian Edelman, this game was the final time that we will see him until Week 5, as he serves his suspension.
Overall, it wasn’t a great performance for the Patriots, as their starters essentially lost the first half 9-3. While they looked much better against the Eagles, this loss will be a good chance for the team to reflect and improve upon some things.
dark. Next. 53-man roster projection
Next up for the Patriots will be their final game of the preseason against the New York Giants. In the fourth week of the preseason, don’t expect to see too many starters if any out there for the Patriots. However, we might see some players fight for the final few spots on the team.