New England Patriots Opens Preseason Game with a 20-9 Win

On Thursday night, the Patriots got their preseason running against the Houston Texans 20-9 with mostly backups playing throughout the game.

The defense gave a significant contribution, with Jalen Mills intercepting rookie CJ Stroud on the very first drive.

Mills got the team a perfect start with an interception on the Texans’ first possession of the game.

He dropped down and picked off a bad throw by CJ Stroud, the rookie second-overall pick this year.

That was one of their two takeaways from the first half.

Bailey Zappe, the Patriots’ quarterback, played the entire first half, the second year even saw extensive action.

However, the offense couldn’t produce much yardage or points.

After all, it’s a preseason match, and wins and losses don’t matter, yet.

What does matter is the experience that some young players got, including rookies Keion White and Christian Gonzalez.

Both Patriots’ players had strong debuts and it should give reasons for optimism.

Tyquan Thornton became the early offensive highlights as he delivered a 27-yard catch from Bailey Zappe.

He would chip in another catch later in the first half.

In a game without many offensive highlights, the wide receiver’s catch was one to build off of.

The New England Patriots accounted for just 65 total net yards in the first half of the game.

Photo: Patriots

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