TreVeyon Henderson returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and the Patriots were on their way to a 48-18 rout of the Commanders.
FOXBORO – Energy, enthusiasm, juice – call it whatever you like.
The Patriots had it in their preseason debut, and maybe that’s the most important takeaway.
The Commanders played largely a collection of backups after doing their real work in joint practices just outside Gillette Stadium earlier in the week. New England put its starters on the game field for at least a brief cameo on this ideal summer evening and showed little mercy in a 48-18 spanking on Friday, Aug. 8.
TreVeyon Henderson returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and the Patriots were on their way. Not even an early fumble by Drake Maye or an apparent right arm injury suffered by Ja’Lynn Polk could sour the mood for the sellout crowd. There was plenty to cheer for the 64,628 fans announced, and it started with Tom Brady celebrating the pregame unveiling of his bronze statue in the plaza outside the team’s Hall of Fame.
“It’s a good start for everything we were talking about,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “It will give us something to coach. We’ll have to tackle better and we’ll have to throw the football better going forward.
“I thought this was a good place to start.”
This was a 4-13 team last season that limped to the finish under Jerod Mayo, who was fired after just that one year in charge. New England has turned to a fellow linebacker alum in an attempt to reverse course, and Vrabel started his night by attending the ceremony for Brady. He needed all of 12 seconds to enjoy a first lead and set a tone – meaningless game or otherwise for the final record in 2025 – that should offer some encouragement.
“I think we’re kind of starting to build something,” Maye said. “We’re trying to build identity – that's what coach is talking about.”
Here are three more takeaways from what was an eventful August night of football.
Special teams shined
Henderson’s return was part of a strong performance from the Patriots on special teams.
Antonio Gibson added a 62-yard kickoff return of his own that set up another score in the second quarter and New England put itself in position to benefit from some Washington mistakes.
Washington's Matt Gay missed a 49-yard field goal after the Maye turnover, the Commanders committed two penalties in the first half and a Tress Way punt that landed outside the Patriots 5 still bounded into the end zone for a touchback.
“We had a few kickoff returns and we didn’t have any penalties there,” Vrabel said. “We had the one that was offsetting on the punt. Those are critical, because there’s so much field position that gets changed.”
Brenden Schooler’s flag for holding was wiped out when Ben Sinnott was called for a late hit out of bounds on Efton Chism III. That came early in the second quarter and preceded a drive that ended with more New England points. Parker Romo blasted a 57-yard field goal and the Patriots owned a 20-0 lead with 10:10 left in the half.
Offensive line stumbles
Maye’s turnover came after what looked like some confusion up front on the Patriots offensive line.
Will Campbell and fellow rookie Jared Wilson lost track of Washington defensive linemen Jer’Zhan Newton and Jacob Martin off the left side. Newton twisted outside around the end while Martin stepped down toward the center of the line.
Newton reached Maye first and stripped him some 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Martin pounced on the loose ball at the New England 30 and the Commanders appeared to be in business. They squandered the chance by losing a yard on three plays and watching Gay’s attempt sail wide left.
“I think it was a game – a pass-rush game, it looked like,” Vrabel said. “Those are something we’ll continue to work on.”
Maye accepted blame for not just pulling the ball down and settling for a sack on third down, a decision that would have led to what is typically a less harmful punt. He followed on the next series with a scramble up the middle for a first down and a 5-yard touchdown run through a vacant left side.
“You’ve got to play football,” Maye said. “That’s my natural instinct. You obviously wish you could have hit more passes, but at the same time we were running the ball good all night.”
Polk leaves game with injury
Polk headed for the sideline medical tent after a 1-yard rush around left end late in the second quarter.
His run on first and goal from the 8 didn’t pick up much, and Polk immediately came off the field. He later went to the home locker room with a white towel covering his head.
“No update right now,” Vrabel said. “He’ll get more testing and see our doctors. He wasn’t able to finish the game.”
Polk and a fellow receiver from last year’s draft class entered the night with their immediate futures somewhat in question. Javon Baker might have helped himself with a pair of tackles on special teams, contributions that offset his shutout on two targets. Joshua Dobbs overthrew Baker on a fade to the end zone’s right corner in the second quarter, a miss that helped set up an Andy Borregales 22-yard field goal to make it 17-0.
“Just happy for Javon being able to go out there and contribute,” Vrabel said. “When you do those things your teammates get excited. Hopefully his confidence continues to grow.”
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 3 takeaways from the Patriots' 48-18 win over Washington in preseason
Category: Football
