Punts, pre-snap penalties and rain. The NFL preseason is back. A handful of drops and 13 combined punts punctuated a seven-point first half between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers, before New England extended its lead in the fourth quarter.
Most notably for the Patriots, rookie quarterbacks Drake Maye and Joe Milton III made their debuts and didn't look overwhelmed. Milton led several successful drives, ultimately helping New England pull out a 17-3 win over Carolina. Most notably for the Panthers, veteran punter Johnny Hekker‘s leg remains strong.
PFF's dedicated team of graders was hard at work, analyzing every player on every play in real time. The grades and data will be available after a thorough review tomorrow at 12 p.m. EST.
In the meantime, we’ve gathered some high-level data and snap counts from the game to give you an early look. Our expert graders have also nominated the standout player of the game, highlighting exceptional performance on the field.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Patriots rookie guard Layden Robinson would have been hard to notice in this contest just from watching on TV, as he was rarely at fault for negative plays. The fourth-rounder allowed two quarterback hurries on a strong workload of 30 pass-blocking snaps and was the team's best run-blocker after the first review of the game.
The Texas A&M product didn't particularly excel in college, especially during his final two seasons, but his first taste of NFL action — 21 snaps at left guard and 27 at right guard — proved to be a glimpse of what could be an excellent future.
BOX SCORE
| Panthers | Patriots | |
| Total points | 3 | 17 |
| Total offensive plays | 52 | 64 |
| Average EPA per play | -0.371 | -0.106 |
| Total net yards | 128 | 254 |
| Avg yards per play | 2.5 | 4 |
| Total first downs | 7 | 16 |
| Rushing first downs | 2 | 5 |
| Passing first downs | 5 | 11 |
| Penalty first downs | 0 | 0 |
| Third-down efficiency | 14% | 40% |
| Fourth-down efficiency | 8% | 0% |
| Possessions | 11 | 11 |
| Avg plays per drive | 5 | 6.1 |
| Avg yards per drive | 9.8 | 19.5 |
| Avg points per drive | 0.2 | 1.3 |
| Red-zone posessions | 0 | 1 |
| Red-zone plays | 0 | 2 |
| Red-zone TDs | 0 | 1 |
| Red-zone FGs | 0 | 0 |
| Red-zone scoring efficiency | 100% |
SNAP COUNTS & PLAYER PARTICIPATION
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