5 immediate thoughts from Patriots’ 17-3 preseason win vs. Panthers

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It was slow. It was rainy. It was a relatively empty Gillette Stadium.

But nonetheless, it was football.

The Patriots opened up their 2024 preseason on Thursday night against the Panthers with a 17-3 win to start a respectable 1-0. It wasn’t pretty, but it gave us a glimpse of what we may see from New England this season.

Here are five immediate thoughts from the matchup:

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5 – New team, new vibes, new routines.

Along with several other groundbreaking changes in New England this offseason (new head coach, new de facto GM, new quarterback), it seems that the days of the Patriots running out of the tunnel to “Crazy Train” are over.

The Pats went away from the Ozzy Osbourne classic, at least for preseason game No. 1 anyway, and instead took the field to “Let’s Go” by Trick Daddy and Lil Jon’s “Let’s Go.”

While it was pointed out by 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Alex Barth that “Let’s Go” does sample “Crazy Train”, it was definitely a different feel for a team looking to build a different culture from the Belichick years.

It’s worth noting that they have kept several other in-stadium sounds alive, including the rumbling horn on third down and Bon Jovi’s “This Is Our House” for touchdowns.

4 – Could JuJu Smith-Schuster’s standing on the roster be more comfortable than we realize?

The Patriots offense started the 2024 preseason in 12-personnel, with Tyquan Thorton and K.J. Osborn playing the X and Z respectively. No surprise, considering both veterans have been repping amongst the starters throughout the beginning of camp.

What was odd, however, was that when New England went into their first three wide receiver set of the night, it was JuJu Smith-Schuster playing the ‘F’.

It’s no secret that Smith-Schuster hasn’t had a good start to camp. He’s been incredibly inconsistent, hasn’t shown a burst, and has had far too many drops to be considered a “lock” to make the roster. In fact, he’s seemingly been in a bottom-of-the-room competition with the likes of Kayshon Boutte, JaQuae Jackson, and David Wallis.

Not only did Smith-Schuster rep with the 1s far earlier than expected, but he also left the game far earlier than expected, as if he’s not competing for anything.

So… are we missing something? Perhaps they’re giving him some sort of veteran benefit of the doubt, or perhaps they’ve seen something we haven’t in the 27-year-old. Either way, his standing in the room is one I’ll have a much more keen eye on heading into Eagles week.

3 – Isaiah Bolden will, in fact, return kicks for the Patriots.

Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden was called a “special teams demon” by head coach Jerod Mayo during the offseason program. He was also one of the best kicker returners in college football during his junior season at Jackson State, leading the NCAA in kickoff return average at 36.9 yards per attempt while the FCS lead with two kickoff returns for touchdowns.

“Hopefully I’ll be back there on Thursday,” Bolden told the media this week when asked about the NFL’s new kickoff rule.

At the time, it seemed like wishful thinking given that the 22-year-old had yet to see a return attempt throughout the first several weeks of camp. He wasn’t even listed as kick returner on the Patriots’ (albeit unofficial) depth chart prior to the game.

Despite this, however, it was in fact Bolden, along with running back Kevin Harris, back to return on New England’s lone kick return attempt on Thursday — though Harris ended up fielding it.

Long story short? We’ve still yet to see Bolden’s ability as a return man at the NFL level, but it was at least promising to see him in the mix on game day.

2 – The Patriots’ defense looks dominant again.

Taking this with the biggest grain of salt in the world given that it was against the Carolina Panthers, the NFL’s worst team last season, and their backup quarterback, the Patriots’ defense came to play on Thursday night.

Giving up 3 points over 12 drives, New England’s unit tallied a total of 5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 5 tackles defensed, and eight QB hits while forcing the Panthers to punt 10 times. Individually, they were led by Marcellas Dial Jr. (5 tackles), Oshane Ximines (4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 2 QB hits), Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL), and Joe Giles-Harris (4 tackles, 2 passed defensed).

This defense is going to be darn good for what feels like the 25th year in a row and if the offense can at least show a pulse, they’ll win more games than expected in 2024.

1 – “Maye Day” lasts just two drives.

The main attraction on Thursday night was the fact that No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye, New England’s potential franchise savior, was set to officially make his NFL debut.

He did… for just 6 plays.

The Patriots played it safe with their rookie signal-caller against Carolina, putting him in the game for just one drive. In the process, he completed 2 of 3 pass attempts for 19 yards.

On one hand, it does make sense. The weather wasn’t great (though it was only a slight drizzle), and the Patriots are still trying their best to figure out their offensive line through various injuries. Who they put in for him, however, was questionable.

Bailey Zappe, who’s been mostly running as New England’s fourth quarterback, played the remainder of the first half before they handed the reigns over to Joe Milton III. It seemed like an abundance of wasted reps for a guy who, frankly, has one of the steepest uphill climbs to make the roster.

Perhaps next week versus the Eagles is when we get to see Maye truly sling it.

Follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!