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Joe Milton gave the Patriots new momentum and further observations from the first preseason game


Joe Milton gave the Patriots new momentum and further observations from the first preseason game

FOXBORO – A Patriots rookie quarterback brought cheers to the team’s season opener at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night, but it wasn’t Drake Maye. That honor went to Joe Milton III, who provided some momentum and excitement against the Carolina Panthers.

Maye didn’t really get the chance to do much in his professional debut, playing only one series in New England’s 17-3 victory. After his first game as NFL head coach Jerod Mayo said that was the plan for both Maye and starter Jacoby Brissett before the game.

The fact that Maye only got one season did not please the fans who had seen a lot of Bailey Zappe on Thursday. A lot by Bailey Zappe. But seeing the electrifying Milton in the final 19 minutes of the contest almost made up for the absence of Maye.

We’ve heard a lot about Milton’s cannon since the Patriots drafted him in the sixth round in April, and we saw that and a lot more on Thursday night. Here are all the observations from New England’s season-winning performance.

Joe Milton kept us awake

Milton was the reason you had to watch the end of the game. He threw a nice touchdown in the fourth quarter with a 38-yard pass to undrafted rookie JaQuae Jackson, who made a nice double play on the play. Milton also did a solid job of fending off a safety before throwing his dart to Jackson.

Milton had the New England sideline is cheered about his touchdown shot. The only thing missing was a celebratory backflip from Milton.

You know Milton’s arm, but what about the newbie’s legs? They’re pretty good too.

Milton also had a nice play where he faked a pass and then ran 13 yards on a first-and-15 to start his touchdown drive.

Although he had one pass behind Kayshon Boutte that was nearly intercepted, Milton had a solid performance overall, completing four of his six pass attempts for 54 yards and his touchdown and rushing for 22 yards on five of his runs.

Mayo said Milton was one of the players who exceeded his expectations on Thursday, but that won’t go to the rookie’s head.

“I heard that from the head coach and I thank him, but I still have a lot of work to do,” Milton said after the win. “There are a lot of things on offense that I have to learn, and quickly.”

Milton will give fans a reason to watch the preseason games this summer. Just stay away from sports radio, as there will be constant chants of “Milton should start.”

Not enough Drake Maye — Too much Bailey Zappe

One series is not enough for the newcomer. Or for the fans (and media) who want to see the newcomer in action.

But that’s all Drake Maye got on Thursday. He replaced Jacoby Brissett after one series and then got just one himself before Zappe took over. Maye was 2-for-3 for 19 yards on two short connections with running backs. He didn’t force anything, although his incomplete pass to Jalen Reagor was a bit high.

Fans looking to get a glimpse of the franchise’s future saw Maye play just seven snaps (one of which was a false start on the offensive line). Another series would have been nice, but Maye had to sit down when the offensive linemen went to the bench.

Zappe played the rest of the first half and then the second. It was a lot of Bailey Zappe, who played the fewest snaps in camp and got the most on Thursday night. If the Patriots “showed” him, it wasn’t much better than what he put on tape at the end of last season.

It was a missed opportunity to get Maye some live snaps, see a different defense, and get him some game film to watch and analyze over the weekend. Hopefully we’ll see more of Maye next Thursday night when the Eagles are in town. (The two teams also have a joint practice scheduled for Tuesday.) The kid needs snaps, and the Pats missed a chance to get him some on Thursday.

Deatrich Wise, Patriots’ D-Line was unstoppable

Wise didn’t play much, but he made the most of his time on the field with a sack on Carolina quarterback Jack (not Jake) Plummer.

New England’s defensive line held up well against Carolina’s makeshift line all night, getting to Plummer five times and hitting the quarterback eight times. They applied pressure throughout the game, which should make defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington happy with his defense.

In addition to Wise, Jeremiah Pharms, Oshane Ximines, Christian Ellis and Joe Morgan Plummer demanded a lot on Thursday. Pharms was also able to achieve two holds in a row in the second quarter.

The defense was awful against Carolina’s backups. They should be really good against real teams too.

Ja’Lynn Polk caught everything that was thrown at him

He didn’t play much and didn’t have many targets, but Polk caught all three passes headed his way. He caught two balls in a row on Zappe’s first drive to move the chains.

Like Maye, we’d like to see more from Polk and Javon Baker (two catches for 11 yards on four targets) in the future.

Offensive penalties were a problem early on

The Patriots were assessed four penalties on their first three offensive plays. Two of those were before the snap, with Chuks Okorafor and La.Michael Pettway receiving false starts. Mitchell Wilcox was also penalized for holding and Zappe was penalized for gross intentional grounding when he threw the ball out of bounds without anyone else in the same area.

At least the Patriots cleaned up a bit and finished the night with only six violations.

David Wallis had some nice punt returns

The undrafted rookie from Randolph Macon College returned 36 yards on both of his punt returns, including a 23-yard return that took advantage of three missed tackles by the Panthers and helped score New England’s first touchdown.

Wallis made a nice cut and picked up another eight yards on his second attempt to finish with a 14-yard return. But he was hit by Carolina punter Johnny Hekker with a “too small”something no one would have expected when waking up on Thursday morning.

It will be a tough fight for him to get into the team, but Wallis made a good case on Thursday night.

A night of ups and downs for Kayshon Boutte

Boutte caught three passes for 53 yards, 28 of which came on a nice third-down catch where he went up and caught the ball.

That catch put the Pats at the Carolina 3-yard line, and two plays later Kevin Harris scored the game’s first point. But Boutte also had a few drops that he’ll need to avoid if he wants to make the team.

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