Instant analysis of Patriots' 17-3 preseason victory over Panthers

The New England Patriots opened up their 2024 preseason slate on Thursday night with a 17-3 win over the visiting Carolina Panthers.

It was mostly a defensive game dictated by field position until Patriots rookie quarterback Joe Milton III entered the game in the second half.

New England came into the matchup with an interesting strategy of starting Jacoby Brissett for a drive and following that up by giving rookie first-round draft pick Drake Maye only one drive as well. They then went with Bailey Zappe for the rest of the first quarter and most of the third.

Zappe was booed heavily when he entered the game by a Patriots fan-base that clearly wanted to see more of Maye. It was a decent effort from the veteran quarterback, who finished the game going 12-of-20 passing for 108 yards.

He even led the Patriots on a touchdown drive that was capped off with running back Kevin Harris rushing the ball into the end zone for six points.

But the story of this game was Milton and the Patriots’ defense. The sixth-round draft pick looked surprisingly calm in the pocket. He never panicked under pressure and even took off for an incredible 13-yard run when the defenders got close.

The real play of the night for Milton came on a play where he pump-faked the defense and threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to receiver JaQuae Jackson, who nearly juked the defender out of his cleats.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots gave the Panthers fits all night.

They dominated at the line of scrimmage and forced quarterbacks Jack Plummer and Jake Luton to get the ball out quickly. There were several dropped passes and missed opportunities for the Panthers, but they were mostly overwhelmed by a Patriots defense that looked solid across the board.

Defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. and edge rusher Oshane Ximines in particular had great games. Both players registered a sack and two quarterback hits on the night.

Overall, it was a good night for the Patriots, but they won’t have long to celebrate. It’ll be back to work next week with a scheduled joint training camp practice with the Philadelphia Eagles on August 13.

The two teams will then face off in a Week 2 preseason matchup at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, August 15.