New England Patriots: 3 losers from first preseason game

The New England Patriots first preseason game of the season is officially in the books, with the team picking up a solid 22-13 victory over the Washington Football Team. It was great to see the team back in action in a game setting, and making it even better was the return of fans to Gillette Stadium to watch the action unfold.

For the most part, there was a lot of good that came from the preseason opener. The offense was able to move the ball pretty consistently for the most part, regardless of who was under center, and the defense did a good job of shutting down Washington’s offense.

Even in victory however, there are always plays that could have been run better or players that could have run them better. Even in a relatively low stakes contest such as Thursday night’s, that was certainly still the case.

While preseason games are ultimately unimportant to the outcome of the season, they are vital for players attempting to make the final cut. We already took a look at two players who were the stars of the game, but now it’s time to take a look on the other side of the fence. Here are three players who came out of the first preseason contest as “losers”.

New England Patriots loser No. 3: Isaiah Wynn

Things certainly didn’t get off to a great start for Isaiah Wynn. On the Pats third offensive play of the game, Wynn allowed Chase Young to blow by him and get a clean shot on Cam Newton. Newton was lucky to get the football out in time to prevent a fumble from occurring.

Obviously there is going to be a bit of rust for Wynn considering he missed the last six games of the previous season on the COVID list, but his struggles in this one were a bit concerning. Wynn seems entrenched in the starting left tackle spot for the time being, but the Pats have options behind him if he struggles.

Trent Brown started as the right tackle in this one, but his true position is left tackle. There has been some debate as to whether New England should uproot Wynn and try to find him a new position on the line, but the coaching staff has shown faith in Wynn for the time being.

It’s obviously early, but if Wynn continues to struggle, they may want to look into moving Brown to the left tackle position and pushing Wynn to left guard. Michael Onwenu is currently stationed there, but he played most of last season at right tackle, and may ultimately end up being a better fit there.

There’s no reason to be concerned about Wynn yet, but his performance has to be watched a bit more intently over the next few weeks. The Patriots have shown faith in him so far, but they have methods to replace him in the event these struggles continue. It’s early, but Wynn’s first live action of the season certainly didn’t ease concerns over his fit at left tackle.