5 takeaways from the Patriots’ preseason-opening loss to the Jaguars

GAROPPOLO LOOKS GOOD

The play of the backup quarterback is always among the primary storylines of the preseason – and that spotlight shines even brighter this year following reports that the Patriots this spring turned down a trade offering the 12th overall pick in exchange for said backup. But so far, so good for Jimmy Garoppolo.

Things started slowly for the signal caller and the Patriots offense as a whole, with the approach appearing particularly conservative early, and Garoppolo’s role mostly limited to handoffs and shorter, quicker passes. But when the Patriots took over at their 24-yard line with 1:43 to go in the first half, the reins were removed from the quarterback a little bit, and his play began to awaken.

He hit on seven straight throws, showing his speed and arm strength to complete a cross-body throw to Austin Carr, then capping the drive by extending the play with his feet until Carr could work his way open across the back of the end zone. Garoppolo followed that up by returning for the opening drive of the second half and hitting on all three of his throws, punctuating a 65-yard drive with a well-executed five-yard screen pass to K.J. Maye.

Finishing with 11 straight completions, Garoppolo wound up 22 of 28 for 235 yards and those two touchdowns before giving way to Jacoby Brissett. It’s tough to glean much of meaning from those numbers – but at the very least they should quiet the talk of Garoppolo looking disengaged amid an inconsistent training camp.

DION LEWIS STARTS

Dion Lewis served as the Patriots’ primary back during the first half, with his seven carries, four catches and 55 yards less noteworthy than the fact he found himself on the field among a cast of backups and players that don’t figure to have a long future in Foxborough.

The obvious question is whether that role could be a signal that Lewis is himself fighting for his residence at Gillette Stadium. James White followed up his Super Bowl heroics by signing a lucrative extension, and the team also inked Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee to deals this spring, so with fellow holdovers Brandon Bolden and James Develin also in the mix, the Patriots have seven established options in their backfield. That prompted some speculation over the offseason that Lewis could be on the bubble, and Thursday’s start won’t silence that chatter.

That said, Lewis’s reps could simply be a result of how much football he has missed over the past five years, and could suggest that the Pats coaches think he could use the work as he continues working back to full speed. He’s made so many highlight plays during his two seasons in New England, and has such a penchant for the big play, it can be forgotten that Lewis’s regular-season resume shows just 181 touches since the start of the 2012 season. He didn’t play at all in 2013 or ’14, then missed an entire calendar year because of knee reconstruction before returning last November.

Even if a guy who’s played 26 games in the past five seasons isn’t battling for his roster spot, he still may not be in a position where he can sacrifice the chance to take some hits, compete at full speed, and look to improve.

CYRUS JONES STRUGGLES

After an underwhelming rookie season, Cyrus Jones enters his sophomore campaign looking to validate the Patriots’ decision to make him their top draft pick a year ago – though those efforts did not get off to a good start Thursday night.

At cornerback, Jones was twice burnt for long touchdown passes, offering little resistance at the line of scrimmage before Keelan Cole just ran away from him en route to a 97-yard score. Then, later, he was in coverage on a 42-yard toss to Dede Westbook. Based on Jones’ reaction it’s possible he was let down by his safety on the play, but nevertheless he didn’t do much to keep Jacksonville’s third-teamers from any easy completion.

That said, with Malcolm Butler and Stephon Gilmore on the outside, Jones’s abilities at cornerback aren’t necessarily critical. Based on their roster construction he probably has greater value in the return game – though Thursday night didn’t look impressive in that regard, either.

Last year his big problems were ball security and bad decisions, and while those didn’t surface against the Jaguars, neither did any semblance of explosiveness or elusiveness. His lone punt return was stopped where he caught it, and in the course of averaging 19 yards per kick return he didn’t really make anybody miss. It’s time for Jones to begin proving that he’s an asset in some facet of the game, yet, if anything, Thursday night seemed like a setback.

CARR AND HOLLISTER SEIZE THE DAY

With Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Rob Gronkowski, and Dwayne Allen all relegated to spectator status, opportunities were there for others to make plays in the passing game. And rookies Austin Carr and Jacob Hollister both seized those opportunities.

Carr co-starred with Garoppolo on the two-minute drive that beat the first-half buzzer, and rewarded the trust of his quarterback by soaring to make a sensational catch in traffic for his first pro touchdown. The Northwestern product finished with five grabs for 44 yards. Hollister, from Wisconsin, led the club with seven catches and 116 yards, and he, too, seems to have earned the trust of his quarterbacks.

Carr still figures to have an uphill fight at a receiver position loaded with talent, but if Hollister can carry this forward there appears to be an opening for the taking. Beyond Gronkowski and Allen the leading candidate to fill the role of New England’s third tight end is Northeastern’s own Matt Lengel. He was serviceable a year ago, though he never showed the playmaking ability Hollister flashed Thursday night.

TOUGH TO EVALUATE THE DEFENSE

The Jaguars offense scored on those 97- and 42-yard throws, as well as a 79-yard run on Jacksonville’s first snap of the third quarter. Those three plays accounted for 218 of the Jags’ yards from scrimmage – and the other 52 offensive plays totaled 229 yards. The Patriots got off the field on seven of 10 third-down chances, while also forcing a field goal one of the Jaguars’ two drives that wound up in goal-to-go scenarios.

That all considered, it’s difficult to make much of an assessment of the Patriots defense from a preseason opener that saw New England rest its regulars. Safety Jordan Richards, once a second-round pick like Jones, got sucked up out of position on the long touchdown run. Jones got burnt for those two long scoring throws, once in conjunction with Richards. And it did not appear as though there were any standouts in the battles to claim spots at linebacker and along the edge of the defensive line, especially after Elandon Roberts and Deatrich Wise went down with injuries (that didn’t appear to be serious).

Overall, the performance lacked consistency, and nobody popped the way Malcolm Butler did a few preseasons ago. But this was just the opener. There’s another game next Saturday. And roster cuts aren’t due for a few weeks. There’s still plenty of time for those answers to emerge.