Patriots
Here’s a closer look at who stood out, both positively and negatively, during this game.
FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots looked dominant in their preseason-opening win against the Commanders.
The offense had almost no trouble moving the ball, putting up 48 points for the first time in a long time.
The defense held its own, and a pair of young defensive backs forced turnovers.
On special teams, New England’s return game stood out with a 100-yard kick return and a lengthy punt return.
Drake Maye didn’t play much, but he scored a touchdown and committed a turnover.
Here’s a closer look at who stood out, both positively and negatively, during this game.
Stock up
RB TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson didn’t take long to show off his tremendous speed. The rookie running back took the first touch of his NFL career 100 yards into the endzone for a score on a kick return.
Credit to linebacker Elijah Ponder for springing Henderson with a physical lead block. The Patriots as a team created a gaping hole for Henderson to run through, and he rewarded his blockers by slipping past an open-field tackler and winning the footrace down the sideline.
His only carry of the game went for 18 yards, and that’s perfectly fine. He showed plenty in a limited amount of time.
CB DJ James
James continued his impressive run this summer with an early interception.
He broke in front of Commanders receiver Michael Gallup on a comeback, taking advantage of a few hesitant steps from his opponent.
The 2024 sixth-round pick spent last season on the practice squad and was unheralded coming into camp, but he has risen up the depth chart and earned some opportunities with Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis battling injuries.
James made the first interception of training camp and the first interception of the preseason games. Strong start for the young corner.
Undrafted rookie Jordan Polk also made an impression, hauling in a tipped pass for an interception.
DE Truman Jones
Jones and Milton Williams created the pressure off the edge that led to James’s interception.
The Harvard alum and former Ivy League defensive player of the year has been standing out in practice recently, and Friday was a continuation of that.
He was all over the field, making four tackles.
WR Efton Chism
Chism was the Patriots’ leading receiver in this game with six catches for 50 yards, including a 12-yard catch from Ben Wooldridge.
No other Patriots receiver had more than one catch heading into the fourth quarter, so it was Chism’s night as far as that position went.
Running backs Henderson and Lan Larrison had multiple catches, but it was a slow night for New England’s pass-catchers.
Production will be key as the underrated rookie tries to hang on with the team. He added value tonight.
RB Antonio Gibson
After Henderson opened the game with a kick-return touchdown, Gibson broke off a 62-yard kick return, setting the Patriots up with quality field position on a drive that led to a score.
He finished with 26 yards on six carries, and with Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson ahead of him on the depth chart, the more ways Gibson can show his effectiveness, the better.
Stevenson was solid, averaging 5.1 yards per carry with 36 yards on six touches and no fumbles.
K John Parker Romo
The Patriots’ kicker competition has been tight. John Parker Romo and Andy Borregales have both been good.
When it’s tight, you have to be able to take advantage of tough opportunities that could separate you from the competition.
Romo did that in the second quarter, nailing a 57-yard field goal with room to spare.
Borregales made his kick, too, but a 57-yarder is going to get more attention than a 22-yarder.
Stock flat
OT Will Campbell
There weren’t a ton of passing opportunities for the first-teamers, and ultimately, Campbell’s ability to protect Maye’s blind side is what really matters when evaluating him.
But, as far as the run game goes, Campbell was effective. He pulled around the edge and made a nice downfield block on a defensive back to help spring Henderson on his 18-yard carry. He seemed to have more wins than losses overall.
Maye was sacked once, and it looked like rookies Campbell and Jared Wilson got their wires crossed, but it seemed more like a Wilson issue than a Campbell issue.
One of Campbell’s more iffy reps in pass protection actually resulted in a touchdown. His rusher tried a speed rush to the outside and Campbell was kind of slow to get his arms extended, but Maye smartly stepped up and kept the ball himself, scampering in for a redzone touchdown.
OG Jared Wilson
The good news is that Wilson did enough in training camp to overtake Cole Strange at left guard and nothing bad enough happened on Friday night to change that.
The Patriots’ running game was effective, and the passing game was uneventful during the starters’ time in there. That’s generally a good thing for offensive linemen. Washington wasn’t able to create much havoc.
Wilson and Campbell were involved in a play that resulted in Maye getting sacked and losing a fumble. Jer’Zhan Newton had a step on Wilson, and Will Campbell ended up pushing the player he was blocking into Wilson.
Newton sprinted past while Campbell had his back turned and slammed into Maye, forcing a fumble. It seemed to me that Campbell had his guy handled and Wilson needed to do a better job on his.
Rough play, but overall not a bad performance from the rookie.
WR Kyle Williams
It was a rough start for the promising rookie. He was targeted four times and finished with no catches.
The first miss wasn’t his fault. He created separation from his defender on a quick slant that probably should have been his first NFL touchdown, but Josh Dobbs’ throw was high and a bit behind the speedy rookie. Williams reached for it with one hand, but couldn’t haul it in.
He had a drop on a short attempt from Wooldridge and there was a deep shot to him that nearly got picked off.
Williams appeared to get open several times, but for whatever reason, that did not translate into production tonight.
Stock down
QB Drake Maye
Maye has been stellar during training camp, and he didn’t play much tonight, so seeing him in the stock down category shouldn’t alarm.
But, in his limited action, he managed to have a turnover.
Yes, miscommunication between his rookie linemen allowed a pair of Commanders to get right at him, but instead of going down and taking the sack when he was hit, Maye tried to make a play and wound up losing a fumble.
Coach Mike Vrabel called it a poor decision, and Maye’s production during the limited snaps wasn’t really enough to keep him off of this part of the list.
Fumbles are nothing new for Maye during this preseason. He and his centers have had issues getting their snaps right. His decision-making in the pass game has generally been pretty sound in practice, but tipped passes have resulted in some bad bounces that have hurt him.
Maye rushed for a touchdown and completed most of his passes, but committing a turnover in such a short sample size was not a welcome sight.
OG Cole Strange
Strange, who entered camp as the starter at left guard, appeared with the second stringers.
To date, the former first-round been overtaken by a rookie and had his position moved by the coaching staff. Strange has taken snaps at center and left guard during camp.
It doesn’t appear to be a great sign when the coaching staff demotes a player and moves him around, trying to figure out where they’re going to put him.
ST Brenden Schooler
Schooler had the Patriots’ only penalty of the first half, a holding call on a punt-return block. New England had just two penalties, compared to Washington’s 13.
This is, admittedly, a pretty nitpicky stock down pick as there was a lot to like during this blowout win and the mistake wasn’t a backbreaker.
But, penalties, especially ones on special teams, can hurt. The Patriots were nearly flawless in terms of avoiding penalties, and that’s the bigger story than Schooler’s five-yarder.
Still, it happened. Just pointing it out.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
