Last week, the Patriots elected to sit their starters in their preseason opener against the New York Giants. Friday night’s game against the Panthers was the first chance for the first unit to get in-game action.

Most of the interest coming into the game was on the Patriots’ starting offense, given their up and down start to camp. Early on they struggled opening with a pair of three and outs. Those drives were derailed by a DeVante Parker drop and miscommunication between Mac Jones and Rhamondre Stevenson.

On their third rive, things started to click. They converted two third downs to start things off. Then, in the highlight of the night, Jones found Nelson Agholor down the sideline for a 45 yard completion.

That play set the Patriots up with a 1st & 10 from the 13. Jones converted that first down with his legs, setting the offense up with a 1st & goal from the 6 yard line after a seven-yard scramble.

They then turned to one of their free agent pickups, running back/wide receiver Ty Montgomery. Montgomery is more known for his skills as a receiver, but he showed impressive leg drive carrying the ball on back-to-back plays capping the drive with a touchdown.

That play would be it for the majority of the Patriots’ starters. Jones finished 4-of-8 for 61 yards, plus the seven rushing yards. He was sacked once.

Agholor was the only receiver with multiple catches on those three drives, grabbing two passes for 52 yards. Parker was targeted twice, and had one catch for 17 yards. Jakobi Meyers was also targeted three times, and came away with one catch for four yards.

Meanwhile, the Patriots’ starting defense dominated the Panthers’ backups. In particular, the pass rush was constantly in the face of quarterbacks P.J. Walker and Matt Corral. Deatrich Wise Jr. and Josh Uche were both credited with sacks, with Matthew Judon also beating his blocker on both plays. Judon also had a PBU.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].