FOXBORO -- Folks, the Patriots aren’t going 23-0.
JAGUARS 31, PATRIOTS 24
- Garoppolo: Strong preseason showing was nothing special
- Surprise! Goodell in the house
- Position change needed for Cyrus Jones? Is lots of preseason playing time a bad sign for Dion Lewis?
- Undrafted rookies Hollister and Carr shine in debuts
Jimmy Garoppolo looked good, Cyrus Jones looked bad and a whole lot of good players didn’t play football as the Jaguars took a 34-21 win over New England in the preseason opener at Gillette Stadium.
WISE HURT
There’s been a lot of buzz about fourth-round pick Deatrich Wise. Big guy. Talented. Easy name to mispronounce.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to impress much in his preseason debut because he suffered a head injury during the Jaguars’ third drive. He did not return to the game.
New England Patriots
BAD PRACTICE PLAYER, GOOD ACTUAL PLAYER, GOOD PRESEASON PLAYER?
For the second straight preseason, there have been questions about how Jimmy Garoppolo has looked in practice. He was also shaky in a preseason game last season against the Panthers. So how would he look in his first game action since the second quarter of Week 2 last season?
Better as the game went on. The offense started slow; their first drive was a 3-and-out that was derailed by Yannik Ngakoue beating LaAdrian to sack Garoppolo for seven yards on third down, and all in all the Pats managed just three points on their first three drives.
But as the game progressed, so too did Garoppolo, perhaps a product of the interchangeable pieces on both sides. He played into the third quarter, completing 22 of 28 passes for 235 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Garoppolo’s favorite targets were rookie tight end Jacob Hollister, who caught five passes from the backup quarterback for 100 yards, and Austin Carr, a fellow undrafted rookie. Hollister made a great catch over the middle and held on as he got crushed, while Carr made a nice play to keep both feet in on a pass at the sidelines and then elevated to snag a touchdown pass. K.J. Maye had New England’s other touchdown reception.
GOODELL SHOWS HIS FACE
It seemed like Roger Goodell had no choice but to have his first time back at Gillette Stadium in over two years met with boos. Maybe he’s smarter than he’s led us to believe.
Goodell was in the Krafts’ box for Thursday’s game. The crowd seemingly was not aware that he was present, and there certainly was no announcement of his attendance to which they could react. He supposedly still plans to be there for the season-opener on Sept. 7. He’ll hear it then.
POOR CYRUS JONES
After a dreadful rookie season, the Patriots seemed willing to give the Alabama product a clean slate for this season. It’s already dirty again.
With the Jaguars on their own 3-yard line, the 2016 second-round pick was torched by undrafted wide receiver Keelan Cole down the field for a 97-yard touchdown. There were no fancy moves or ankle-breaking at play -- just one guy blowing past another.
Jones was also beaten for a 42-yard touchdown in the second half.
As he did in college, Jones was also given reps in the return game. He was tackled immediately on a punt return, but totaled 97 yards on six kick returns, including a 27-yard return in the third quarter.
GOSTKOWSKI SHORT
Stephen Gostkowski missed five field goals last season. He missed one field goal Thursday.
That miss came in the form of a second-quarter 56-yard attempt that landed short. Two drives earlier, he put a 43-yarder through the uprights. He converted all three of his PATs.
FOSTER GIVES IT UP, RUNS IT IN
The Patriots were marching down the field on a third-quarter drive, but D.J. Foster fumbled while racing past the 10-yard line after a six-yard reception from Garoppolo. It was the only turnover of the game of the Patriots.
Foster made up for it in the fourth quarter with a three-yard touchdown run.
STARTERS
Offense: LaAdrian Waddle, Jamil Douglas, Ted Karras, Cole Croston, Cameron Fleming, Dion Lewis, Tony Washington, K.J. Maye, Austin Carr, Jacob Hollister, Jimmy Garoppolo
Defense: Deatrich Wise, Woodrow Hamilton, Darius Kilgo, Adam Butler, Elandon Robert, Harvey Langi, Jonathan Freeny, Cyrus Jones, Justin Coleman, Jordan Richards, Damarius Travis
GUYS WHO DIDN’T PLAY
Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Brandin Cooks, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, James White, Dont’a Hightower, Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung, David Andrews, Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Stephon Gillmore, Shaq Mason, Joe Thuney, Vincent Valentine, Trey Flowers, Lawrence Guy, Nate Ebner, Marcus Cannon, Kyle Van Noy, James Develin, David Harris, David Jones, Rex Burkhead, Matthew Slater, Nate Solder, Mike Gillislee, James O’Shaughnessy, Malcom Brown, Cody Hollister, Dwayne Allen, Eric Rowe, Alan Branch, Matt Lengel, Antonio Garcia, and Shea McClellin.