Defense dominates as Patriots fall to Panthers in second Madden preseason sim
By Alex Barth, 985TheSportsHub.com
Thursday night should have been the second Patriots preseason game of 2020. Obviously that wasn’t happening, so just like last week, a sim on Madden 20 was the logical solution.
Unlike week one, which saw the offense dominate, the Patriots struggled to move the ball, falling 10-3 to the Carolina Panthers. If Jarrett Stidham’s second half was played in reality, the takes would have exploded.
After the Patriots defense allowed the only touchdown of the game with about three and a half minutes to go, Stidham had a chance to lead a drive for the go-ahead score. That drive ended ended with an INT into double coverage.
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Even with the short field behind them, the Patriots defense got a stop, holding Carolina to a field goal. That gave Stidham another chance with a minute and a half left (no timeouts) to tie the game. Instead, he constantly threw to the middle of the field, allowing the clock to run out before the offense got into scoring range.
Of course, this is a video game and none of it means anything, but could you imagine what people would be saying tomorrow if this really happened?
On the other side of the ball, things weren’t as grim. Patriots top-overall pick Kyle Dugger had a monster game, leading the team in tackles. As a unit, New England held Carolina to just 3-of-9 on third downs.
Anyways, a huge thank you to everybody who joined myself and Pats Pulpit’s Ryan Spagnoli for tonight’s broadcast. For those of you who remain as starved for football as I am, make sure to tune in to next week’s Week Three game against the Eagles on Twitch. Kickoff will be at 7:30 on either Thursday or Friday.
In the meantime, here’s the Patriots box score from Thursday night’s win:
FINAL
Panthers: 10
Patriots: 3
Passing:
Cam Newton: 14/18, 153 yards
Jarrett Stidham: 7/14, 40 yards, INT
Rushing:
Damien Harris: 5 carries, 28 yards
Rex Burkhead: 5 carries, -4 yards
James White: 3 carry, 10 yards
Cam Newton: 1 carry, 2 yards
Receiving:
Mohamed Sanu: 4 catches, 75 yards
James White: 4 catches, 26 yards
J.J. Taylor: 4 catches, 15 yards
Devin Asiasi: 3 catches, 27 yards
Ryan Izzo: 2 catches, 13 yards
Julian Edelman: 1 catch, 16 yards
Jeff Thomas: 1 catch, 12 yards
Dalton Keene: 1 catch, 8 yards
Rex Burkhead: 1 catch, 1 yard
Blocking:
Sacks allowed: 2 (Yodny Cajuste, James White)
Pancakes: 0
Tackle Leaders:
Kyle Dugger: 6
Myles Bryant: 4
Joejuan Williams: 4
J’Whaun Bentley: 4
Cody Davis: 4
Anfernee Jennings: 3
TFL:
Kyle Dugger: 2
J’Whaun Bentley: 1
Devin McCourty: 1
Stephon Gilmore: 1
Afernee Jennings: 1
Brandon Copeland: 1
Adam Butler: 1
Sacks:
John Simon: 1
INT:
None
Kicking:
Justin Rohrwasser: 1/1 (25 yards)
Punting:
Jake Bailey: 4 punts, 134 yards, 1 I20, 1 touchback
Team Offense:
Total yards: 255
Passing yards: 181
Rushing yards: 44
3rd downs: 6/12
TOP: 15:21
Team Defense:
Total yards: 168
Passing yards: 95
Rushing yards: 73
3rd downs: 3/9
TOP: 12:39
Scoring:
Q2 NE: Rohrwasser, 25-yard field goal
Q4 CAR: Mike Davis, 1 yard TD run
Q4 CAR: Joey Slye, 25-yard field goal