The New England Patriots concluded their preseason slate on Sunday by edging the New York Giants in a final score of 22-20 at Met Life Stadium. The preseason dropped to 3 games made the game a bit more interesting than the usual dud of a 4th game in prior years. Bill Belichick would have been happy that there were no major injuries that aroused from the contest. For instance, the Baltimore Ravens suffered a terrible injury when J.K. Dobbins tore his ACL in Saturday’s final preseason game. Belichick will also be satisfied with the play of the team who went undefeated in the preseason. Of course, in New England success is measured based on Lombardi’s and not preseason glory. Therefore, here are my five interesting reactions to the game.
1. The quarterback competition is coming down to the wire
The question of who will start the season under center is the big decision Bill will have to make quickly. Fans and pundits have very polarizing views on who should take the start against the Dolphins. In this game, Cam played only two series, completed 2 of 5 passes for 10 yards but also had an interception. He did, however, lead the team to an early field goal. The interception was actually not Newton’s fault because he threw a near-perfect pass to Jacobi Myers which he caught but Blake Martinez made an excellent play of stripping the receiver when he was falling to the ground. Mac Jones started slow but led the team to a field goal on his opening series. Then, he picked up steam in the second half in leading the team to back-to-back touchdown drives. In the end, he completed 10 of 14 passes for 156 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. However, those successful drives were against the backup players on defense. Therefore, it is hard to judge how it would translate against starters throughout the game. Also, he was sacked four times in the game due to holding the ball too long. However, the body of work shows Jones is ready to take the helm.
2. The running backs will dominate the league this season
Whether it’s Cam or Mac at quarterback, they will not have to strain of having to throw on every down this season. Look for the Patriots to run the ball far often and utilize the deadly play-action game. My confidence stems from this dynamic running back group. In this game, J.J. Taylor amassed 76 yards from 9 carries while Harris and Stevenson combined for 52 yards from 9 plays. This trio will give opposing defensive coordinators fits to prepare for each week.
3. Josh Uche is the breakout star in this preseason
Josh has proven this year that he could be on the cusp of being a breakout star this season. Early in the game against the starters, he used a quick inside-out move to get around Giants left tackle, Andrew Thomas to produce a sack on Daniel Jones. Later, he beat right tackle Matt Peart with a swim move for another pressure on the quarterback. Josh also generated pressure on Jones to force the errant pass in the end zone that led to the interception by D’Angelo Ross.
4. D’Angelo Ross proves that he could be worthy of a roster spot
With Stephon Gilmore out injured, there are still questions about the Patriots’ cornerback position. Those questions were still left answered in the game with Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant not playing at all. However, D’Angelo may have placed his name in the hat to make the roster. He made the right read to make the interception against Jones. He also made a brilliant third-down tackle against Evam Engram in the flat to prevent the 1st down conversion. He could prove to be a valuable backup to keep on the roster.
5. Devin Asiasi FINALLY had a good game for the Patriots
After claiming Kahale Warring from waivers, the Patriots ruthlessly cut him after just two days. The decision perhaps sent the message to Devin that the franchise believes in him and that he needs to step up. He played with confidence in the game because he tallied four catches for 64 yards. He made a tremendous adjustment to catch a back-shoulder throw by Mac Jones. It seems that he has locked himself in the third tight-end spot on the depth chart behind Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry.
