Tom Brady shows Panthers why he is still the best
New England moved to 3-0 in the preseason on Friday night with a 19-17 win against the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium in Charleston, SC.
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The buzz was of course centered around Tom Brady who was slated to make his preseason debut. Surprisingly it was Jimmy Garoppolo who drew the start in this one, with Brady assuming a backup role of sorts. For the third straight game, the Pats offense got off to a slow start with Garopppolo at the helm.
The Jimmy G led offense managed only one first down in the first four drives, failing to score on their first six possessions. Garoppolo finished the game 9 of 15 passing for 57 yards. The numbers don’t tell the real story here as Garoppolo was much worse than his stats would indicate.
Once Tom Brady entered the game late in the first quarter, the Patriots offensive tone completely changed. Tom Brady reminded everyone just how good he is, immediately hooking up with Aaron Dobson for 37 yards. His second completion was a perfectly thrown ball to Chris Hogan for a 33-yard touchdown. The obvious difference between Garoppolo and Brady was on full display Friday, as Brady is clearly far more comfortable throwing beyond the sticks.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots continued to look dominant. Logan Ryan made his preseason debut and was tested early and often by Panthers’ quarterback Cam Newton. He looked great and basically shut down everything that came his way
Ryan capped off an excellent preseason debut with a nice interception midway through the first quarter. Undrafted rookie free agent Cre’von Leblanc had another stand out performance and has likely solidified his spot on the 53-man roster. The Patriots’ defensive backfield as a whole played an excellent game, accumulating three interceptions and frustrating the Panthers passing attack.
The defensive front seven also played well, consistently pressuring Newton and basically shutting down the Panthers rushing game. Trey Flowers lead the way with six tackles and a sack. Jamie Collins continued to show his star power providing a consistent presence in the offensive backfield. Overall the Patriots defense looks to have great depth heading into the regular season.
Other highlights from the evening included Chris Hogan catching 5 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Hogan now has 9 catches for 115 yards through two preseason games and is shaping up to be another free agent steal by Belichick and the Pats.
Rookie Cyrus Jones showed his potential as a punt returner with a big 60-yard return late in the third quarter. Jones’ punt return set up a Jacoby Brissett to Deandre Carter 12-yard touchdown pass. Brissett also had a nice game finishing the night 9 of 9 passing for 85 yards and a touchdown.
The Patriots dominated this game with the exception of two garbage time Panthers’ touchdowns making the final score appear close. Patriots 19 Panthers 17.
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