Four Ups, Four Downs From Patriots' Preseason Win Against Washington
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The 2021 New England Patriots are undefeated.
While it may be true that preseason records don't technically count ... it's also true that the Patriots beat the Washington Football Team (the football team from Washington, in case that wasn't clear) on Thursday night, 22-13.
And so, the Patriots greeted fans at Gillette for the first time since January 2020 with a victory. Here are the Four Ups and Four Downs from the first real-fake football game in nearly two years.
FOUR UPS
Mac Jones In The Hurry-Up
The rookie QB had a pretty good night, but he looked his best coming out of halftime when he ran the hurry-up offense. He went 8-for-8 while moving the Patriots up the field, before having to throw an incompletion before getting hit on third down.
Jones finished the night 13-for-19 for 87 yards. He threw a couple of excellent deep balls, one of which hit the finger tips of Kristian Wilkerson in the end zone. But the command of the offense and poise in that hurry-up was certainly his best work of the night.
Matt Judon
The newcomer's bright red long sleeves made him hard to miss when he was on the field, and his burst to get into the backfield and make a third-down stop from the back side of a running play made him stand out even more.
Judon gets a double-up here, too, as he avoided injury. He went down hurt after tight end Logan Thomas tried to cut him at the knees, but he shook off the pain and returned to the game shortly thereafter.
He told reporters the other day that if he looked sloppy in the preseason game, then it should be written that he was sloppy.
He was not sloppy.
Jonnu Smith
This is precisely what the Patriots need:
Smith is a YAC specialist, and plays like this will be immense in making a Cam Newton-led offense more effective in 2021.
Quinn Nordin (mostly)
With a 35-yard field goal, a 50-yarder, and a 45-yarder in his back pocket, the undrafted rookie kicker was having a dynamite night. A perfect night was underway. Alas, he pushed a PAT attempt in the fourth quarter, and it was nearly a big miss, too. Washington ended up being able to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter, but the two-point conversion was wiped away after a replay review showed the ball was dropped.
Still, the field goals were big, especially the 50-yarder, as Nordin is doing what he can to make the most of his opportunity. (Nordin hit a PAT with 1:04 left in the game, too.)
BONUS UPS
Joejuan Williams made an interception and returned it 36 yards to get to the Washington 19, setting up New England's first touchdown. Williams also made a last-ditch effort to break up the aforementioned two-point conversion late in the fourth. ... J.J. Taylor was a ball of energy, rushing for 10 yards on two carries and catching five passes (on five targets) for 31 yards. ... Rhamondre Stevenson did the honors of scoring that touchdown, in the first preseason game of his career. Then for good measure, with the Patriots running out the clock, Stevenson broke free up the right sideline for a 91-yard touchdown. A whole host of Patriots players ran out to celebrate with him in the end zone.
FOUR DOWNS
Special Teams Penalties
Jakob Johnson, Harvey Langi, and Gunner Olszewski each committed a false start on punts. Malik Gant committed a holding penalty on a punt return. Troy Fumagalli committed a block in the back on a kick return.
Bill Belichick definitely enjoyed none of those plays.
Isaiah Wynn
Now, there's no shame in getting beaten by Chase Young. He's a monster, and this was his first opportunity to hit a quarterback since January.
Nevertheless, getting beaten by Chase Young on a third down, leading to a near strip-sack that was somehow a forward pass (Cam Newton's grip strength is unmatched), it lands a left tackle on the Downs. I don't make the rules, I just follow them. (I do make the rules.)
Defense Late In Halves
The Patriots were ahead 6-0 when Washington got the ball at its own 36-yard line with 3:23 left in the first half. The Patriots allowed a 12-play, 64-yard drive that ended in a touchdown.
The Patriots were ahead 15-7 when Washington got the ball at its own 8-yard line with 6:28 left in the game. The Patriots allowed a 15-play, 92-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. Washington briefly converted the game-tying two-point attempt, too, but it was wiped away on replay.
Obviously, with third and fourth stringers on the field, it wasn't actually high-stakes football. But with a chance in an actually competitive spot, the Patriots' defense got beaten. Twice.
N'Keal Harry
It's not necessarily his fault, because he wasn't driving the N'Keal Harry Hype Train throughout training camp. But he did request a trade, and his agent did refer to him as a nearly unstoppable force at the point of attack in college.
And then he caught one pass for four yards in the third quarter. And that was it.
While making some spectacular plays in drills is nice, Harry will want to put some plays on tape in game settings if he wants to find a team interested in him or earn a spot on this team. One catch for four yards probably won't get either done.
Dustin Hopkins
Wait ... who?
Oh, that's right, the Washington kicker made the list of Downs. (I told you: I make the rules.)
He was bad. Real bad.
UNBELIEVABLY bad.
Forty-yard field goal in the first quarter? MISS.
Fifty-yard field goal in the third quarter? NOPE.
Not even close.
Not that anyone really cares if the Washington Football Team's football kicker is bad at kicking football. But that guy was no bueno. Soured the evening for some. Not great.
