Starters Sit, Patriots Fall to Redskins
Thursday, August 07, 2014
It was a beautiful night in Landover, Maryland as the New England Patriots opened preseason play against the Washington Redskins. Unfortunately for the Patriots, their play was not as nice as they fell 23-6 to the Redskins in the preseason opener.
The Patriots offense sputtered early as they went three and out to start the game. They went three and out under the direction of Ryan Mallett, who got the start with Tom Brady not playing. Mallett did look for Brandon LaFell twice on the drive, but Ryan Allen was forced to punt to the Redskins.
The excitement was still there for Patriots fans, as they were about to get their long-awaited look at the new Patriots defense. That, however, did not happen as the Patriots came out in a 3-4 look with mostly substitutes in the game. The only expected starters to take the field to start the game for the Patriots were: Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly and Brandon Browner. The defense was led by 2nd-year linebacker Steve Beauharnais, who got the start in place of Jerod Mayo. Patrick Chung and Tavon Wilson started the game as the safety duo.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Redskins offense looked more in synch than the Patriots, rattling off an 11-play scoring drive on the Patriots defense. The drive was led by Robert Griffin III as he went 2/4 for nine yards on his only drive of the night. The rushing attack was the strong point on the drive for the Redskins, however. Alfred Morris rushed five times for 27 yards on the drive, setting up a 39-yard Kai Forbath field goal to make the score 3-0 for the home team.
The Patriots offense once again went three and out on their second drive.
The Redskins kept their momentum going, making it back-to-back scoring drives to start the game. With Kirk Cousins now at the helm, the Redskins went on a nine-play touchdown drive. The drive ended on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Aldrick Robinson. Robinson made a move on a quick slant, fooling Logan Ryan and slipping under the coverage of Duron Harmon for the touchdown, making it 10-0.
The Patriots got their lone first down of the quarter on the last play of the quarter on a Ryan Mallett pass to Josh Boyce. Mallett stood strong in the pocket under pressure and delivered a 15-yard strike to Josh Boyce. The 1st quarter ended with Washington leading 10-0. The play appeared to get Mallett into a bit of a rhythm, but the drive stalled and the Patriots punted away again. The punt was a beautiful one, as Allen dropped the punt inside the 1-yard line and it was covered by Justin Green.
The teams traded stalling drives and missed field goals before Zach Hocker hit a 27-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in the half. That gave the Redskins the 13-0 lead at the half. Ryan Mallett went 5-of-12 for 55 yards in the half. Jonas Gray led the team in rushing with 10-yards on four carries. Brandon LaFell led the team in receiving with 16-yards on two receptions.
The 2nd half was a display of the depth players for both teams. The Redskins offense continued to move the ball with relative ease on the Patriots defense. 3rd string quarterback Colt McCoy led the Redskins on another 10-play scoring drive, throwing a 7-yard touchdown to tight end Ted Bolser. The touchdown with the ensuing 33-yard extra point made the score 20-0 Redskins.
When the Patriots took the field in the 2nd half they did so with 2nd Round pick Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo was in his first career game, it was also the first NFL game he ever attended. His first completion came on his second career attempt. The completion was a seven-yard play to Josh Boyce. Garoppolo also delivered a near-perfect ball to Brian Tyms. The first drive of Garoppolo's career did not end in a touchdown, but he appeared to fit into the NFL game on the drive.
Jimmy Garoppolo continued to impress on another great strike to Tyms on the first play of the 4th Quarter. This time the ball was complete, and good for a 54-yard gain down the far sideline.
The Redskins offense, especially the running game, continued to show its strength late in the game against the Patriots' backup defenders. They setup a field goal with a 10-play drive that was highlighted by rookie Lache Seastrunk. He carried the ball six times for 50 yards, setting up a 39-yard Hocker field goal to make the score 23-0 Redskins.
The Patriots finally got on the board with 1:23 left in the game as Jimmy Garoppolo threw his first NFL touchdown. The touchdown came on a beautiful deep ball to Tyms for a 26-yard touchdown, making the score 23-6 Redskins. The Patriots went for the two-point conversion, but it was unsuccessful.
The Patriots were led by Jimmy Garoppolo's 157 yards and one touchdown. Garoppolo completed 9-of-13 passes with the touchdown to Brian Tyms in his first NFL action. The Patriots rushing attack struggled as Roy Finch led the way with 15-yards on three carries. Jonas Gray carried the ball nine times for 12 yards.
Receiver Brian Tyms was the other positive on offense, hauling in five Garoppolo passes for a game-high 119 yards and the lone touchdown for the Patriots. Josh Boyce was the next leading receiver with three receptions for 30 yards.
Defensively, the Patriots were paced by undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler's six tackles and solid play in the defensive backfield. Steve Beauharnais also played well, collecting nine total tackles. Michael Buchanan gathered seven tackles for the Patriots, including the only Patriots' sack.
As a team the Patriots were only able to gain 270 total yards while giving up 387 yards. The Patriots were whistled for nine penalties, totaling 81 yards.
The Patriots fall to 0-1 in the preseason with the loss. They will play their first preseason game at Gillette Stadium on Friday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
