The New England Patriots wrapped up an undefeated preseason with a solid 22-20 victory over the New York Giants. Things surprisingly came right down to the wire after the Patriots made some very questionable clock-management decisions at the end of the game, and the Giants proceeded to score a touchdown within just under 10 seconds left. Luckily for New England, they failed to convert the ensuing two point conversion, which secured the victory for the Pats.
As is the case with every victory, there were more positive takeaways than negative here. Although this was the closest game New England had throughout their preseason play, the Pats controlled the proceedings for the most part, and aside from a brief scare at the end, the result was never really in doubt. It was a good way to wrap up the preseason, and now the focus shifts to the regular season.
While the final cuts are right around the corner, there is a lot to unpack from tonight’s game, and a lot of what we saw will have a big impact on who ends up sticking and who ends up out of a job. Let’s take a look at three winners and three losers from last night’s preseason finale, starting with a standout performance at cornerback.
New England Patriots Winner No. 3: D’Angelo Ross
It was clear coming into this game this was going to be an important game for the cornerbacks. It certainly didn’t end up being their best night as a unit, but there was one clear standout among the corners fighting for a roster spot, and that was D’Angelo Ross.
Ross is in his third year with the Patriots after spending his rookie season on the injured reserve and then most of last season on the practice squad. He signed a futures contract after last season, giving him a chance to finally crack the 53 man roster. And after he bookended a solid training camp with last night’s standout performance, he may have done just enough to crack the roster.
On a down night overall for the secondary, Ross was one of the standout performers. He made an instant impact, as he picked off Daniel Jones in the end zone on New York’s third drive to help preserve New England’s lead. That would end up being crucial considering the Pats won by just two.
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Ross also had another pass deflection on the night as well as three tackles, and generally held up well in coverage compared to his fellow corners. It felt like the cornerback depth chart would be rounded out tonight based on who performed well, and Ross was the best of the bunch. There’s no telling yet whether Ross has done enough to secure a roster spot, but it feels like he’s trending in the right direction in the aftermath of this one.
New England Patriots Winner No. 2: Josh Uche
Josh Uche had been one of the standout performers during training camp, and he finished things off with arguably his best performance yet. Uche continued his utter domination of the Giants with three tackles, one of which was sack and another one that went for a loss, while also picking up two more QB hits in the process. In limited action, Uche was an absolute force yet again for the Pats.
Uche has seen his role switch from more of an off-ball linebacker to rushing the passer more often, and the results have been splendid throughout camp. Uche has consistently found ways to disrupt the offense, whether it be dropping a quarterback for a sack or breaking up a rushing attempt on the other end. He’s making a push for more snaps when the regular season rolls around, and the coaching staff will have to get creative in finding a proper way to utilize him.
The Patriots lacked any sort of pass rush last season, and to see Uche make a large leap during the offseason is a great sign. Combine his leap with the additions of Matthew Judon and Kyle Van Noy, and New England suddenly has an abundance of players that can find the other team’s quarterback. Uche has turned a supposed competition at linebacker into a laugher, and looks set to embark on a potential breakout season.
New England Patriots Winner No. 1: Mac Jones
As we will see in a moment, Mac Jones could probably have been named a winner based solely off of how Cam Newton played tonight. But Jones rubbed salt in the wounds by having arguably his best preseason performance last night, and it has left fans wondering whether he could actually be under center come Week 1.
Jones finished the night going 10/14 for 156 yards and a touchdown, good for a 131.8 passer rating. Jones night probably should have been ever better, as Isaiah Zuber dropped a pass that would have been his second touchdown on the night. Rhamondre Stevenson would finish the drive off moments later, leaving Jones with just the one touchdown on the night.
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Jones overcame a slow start to lead New England to two effortless touchdown drives to kick off the second quarter. He seems to have a really good grip on the offense, and having a balanced ground game has certainly helped his cause as well. That has helped open up the play action game, and Jones has been picking teams apart off those plays.
The one downside to Jones night was that he took four sacks, often because he held onto the ball too long. Sometimes just checking it down is better than holding out for a receiver downfield to get open, and that was certainly the case tonight. Even then, Jones performance was that of a true winner, and it will be interesting to see when he gets his first regular season action for New England.
New England Patriots loser No. 3: Gunner Olszewski
It wasn’t that Gunner Olszewski did anything wrong last night, it’s that he didn’t do anything at all. Olszewski failed to record a catch on just two targets, and watched his reps in the kick and punt return game go to Rhamondre Stevenson and J.J. Taylor. It’s fair to wonder based off this performance whether Olszewski’s roster spot is in jeopardy.
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Olszewski was coming off a solid performance last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. He led the team in both catches and yards, hauling in four passes for 57 yards. Olszewski has always been seen as a special teams ace of sorts, so any production from him in the passing game was a welcome sight.
That was nonexistent against the Giants last night. Olszewski made no impact whatsoever in the passing game, and didn’t even get reps as a returner, which is his specialty. If he’s losing reps in his area of expertise, is there reason to think he won’t make the final cut? Time will soon tell, but tonight was certainly not a good night for Olszewski.
New England Patriots loser No. 2: The cornerback room
As previously mentioned, tonight was a big night for the secondary, and they chose a bad time to have their worst performance of the preseason. Daniel Jones and Mike Glennon combined to go 26/39 for 255 yards and three touchdowns, with Jones also throwing an interception along the way. Those aren’t lights out numbers, but the Pats secondary had been lockdown in the previous two games, and just couldn’t follow it up tonight.
Of the guilty parties on the touchdowns, it appeared Adrian Colbert, Michael Jackson Sr., and the newly acquired Shaun Wade were in coverage on the scores. Wade made up for his late game blunder by playing some good coverage on a fade route to prevent the Giants from tying the game. But all night long, it didn’t feel like the secondary was living up to expectations.
It was tough to see this type of performance from a position that features so much competition. On a night where somebody could have put the competition to rest, nobody really did aside from Ross, and even then it may not be enough for him to stick around. The cornerbacks certainly didn’t make the cut down decision at the position any easier for their coaches with this one.
New England Patriots loser No.1: Cam Newton
Cam Newton could have cemented himself as the Patriots Week 1 starter (if he isn’t already) with a solid performance tonight. Instead, he dropped an absolute dud in limited action, completing just 2/5 passes for 10 yards and an interception. The interception was admittedly not his fault, but this still is not a great look for Newton.
Just last week against the Eagles, it looked like Newton had finally locked down the position with a pristine effort. But since then, he’s only missed five days with a COVID issue, watched Mac Jones excel when given first team reps, and then he does virtually nothing last night against the Giants. It’s certainly not the position we expected to see him in a week ago.
And with Jones coming in behind him once again looking like a chiseled veteran, the quarterback competition has never looked more open than it does now. Newton admittedly isn’t getting much time to work himself into these games, but he just didn’t have it tonight while Jones did. It’s just a preseason game, but what if it happens in a regular season game?
Newton’s lackadaisical outing could come back to hurt him, and it appears like there’s a real shot Jones will be the starter Week 1. Newton’s existence in New England almost certainly relies on his ability to come in and start, but he may not even be able to accomplish that with Jones breathing down his neck. Newton could have had this position locked up by now, but a poor performance last night sees him heading into the regular season with a cloud of uncertainty tied to his name.