6 takeaways from the Patriots preseason finale loss to Raiders

A lackluster preseason comes to a close with a loss in Las Vegas.

August 26, 2022

3 minutes to read

Another week brings another preseason loss and more questions about the New England offense.

The Patriots dropped their preseason finale against the Raiders 23-6 Friday night in Las Vegas.

For the second week in a row, the Patriots had an offensive player leave due to injury. Last week, it was Tyquan Thornton. This week, it was Ty Montgomery.

The Patriots were able to complete a lot of passes, but the offense lacked the explosiveness to gain big chunks of yards and make big plays. Kevin Harris was a bright spot for the run game with some solid carries including a 33-yard run.

Here are six takeaways from the action:

Ty Montgomery carted off with leg injury

With just over six minutes to go in the first quarter, running back Ty Montgomery left the game with an apparent leg injury and was taken to the locker room on a cart.

James White’s retirement leaves a need for a third down back, and Montgomery, who has been enjoying a solid camp, looked ready to help fill that role.

Montgomery’s status hasn’t been updated yet.

Another frustrating start for Mac Jones

Mac Jones and the Patriots’ first-team offense played for four drives Friday night, and only tallied three points to show for it.

The best thing about Jones’ night was his completion percentage. 9-for-13 is actually pretty decent. He also had a nice 13-yard scramble for a first down.

But, he made a terrible read on a throw intended for Kendrick Bourne where multiple defenders were in the vicinity and linebacker Luke Masterson was in a perfect position to pick the ball off. And with an average of 5.5 yards per completion, there weren’t enough big plays to offset the mistakes.

“Obviously I need to do a better job of just playing the next play,” Jones said. “You know, it’s the preseason and you don’t know how many plays you’re going to play but it doesn’t really matter … sometimes it’s hard to find a rhythm regardless of how much you’re going to play. We can do better with that and we will.”

Offensive line struggles continue

Part of the explanation for this is that the offensive line had issues with pass protection.

New England quarterbacks were sacked four times. That’s more than the first two games combined.

Jones was sacked twice and had to completely abandon the pocket, run backward, and throw the ball away to avoid a sack on another play.

“This is going to happen unfortunately in this league,” offensive lineman David Andrews said. “You’ve got to flush it and move on. You can’t let one bad Sunday turn into another bad Sunday turn into another bad Sunday. You’ve got to move on.”

Jack Jones made some big hits

Rookie defensive back Jack Jones made his presence felt, flying around the field making plays.

Whether it was crunching a receiver coming over the middle, or popping the ball loose from a running back on a short pass, Jones made a positive impression.

The Patriots could use a defensive back to step up after the departures of Stephon Gilmore and JC Jackson and the season-ending injuries of Malcolm Butler and Joejuan Williams.

Jones showed some flashes in the preseason finale.

A former Patriots’ receiver picks off Bailey Zappe

Rookie QB Bailey Zappe threw another fourth-quarter interception.

This time it was to Isaiah Zuber, who signed with the Patriots in 2020 as an undrafted free agent.

After being cut by the Patriots, Zuber played on the San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, and Cleveland Browns’ practice squad.

Raiders coach Josh McDaniels, who was the Patriots offensive coordinator for nearly a decade, signed Zuber and let him get some defensive reps Friday night.

Jarrett Stidham had some quality drives

The opposing starting QB was none other than Jones’ former backup Jarrett Stidham.

Stidham had one more yard than Jones on less than half as many throws. He was also able to lead the Raiders to scores on two of his three drives.

Ultimately 4-6 for 72 yards isn’t an incredible stat line, but it helped put the Raiders in solid position to pick up the win.

“In the end, it’s just too many big mistakes and too many little mistakes,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “Turn the ball over, get two touchdowns called back, give up a couple of big plays on defense that were totally unnecessary and just basic fundamental execution in all three phases of the game needs to be better.”

6 takeaways from the Patriots preseason finale loss to Raiders