After a heartbreaking super bowl and crazy offseason, Patriots’ football is finally back with some preseason action vs the Redskins.
First Half
In the first defensive drive, the Patriots forced a punt. Stephon Gilmore was completed on twice, one of them being conservative in a zone and the other he was turned out on a comebacker. Patrick Chung made a tackle on a run, and he dId a great job coming down to the box on a run down. Chung was also the one to cause the punt by making a stop on third and seven. After Riley McCarron returned a punt, the Patriots went 3-and-out.
A run to Gillislee and throw to Hollister did not go far and a go route to Phillip Dorsett was incomplete on third and long. After a good return on a Ryan Allen punt, the Redskins cashed in on an opportunity to score. Stephon Gilmore was burned for a big gain. Then, Kyle Van Noy was burned by a running back on third and eleven to allow the first touchdown. The Patriots went 3 and out again, with a short Gillislee run, a coverage sack, and a throw over the middle to Dorsett that he could not haul in.
Courtesy of Washington Post
First Half Continued
JC Jackson made a tackle on a ten yard in route. Deatrich Wise Jr. got pressure, but McCoy dumped it off to a fullback. A few plays later, Keion Crossen made a big hit. The Pats were able to execute the “bend but don’t break” play, and the Redskins led 10-0. Jeremy Hill had a good run to start the next drive, but nothing happened after and they punted again.
JC Jackson could not break up a precision pass. Then, pressure by Derek Rivers and a deflection by Crossan caused a punt. Jeremy Hill had another good run up the middle, showing much more explosiveness than Mike Gillislee. However, a drop by Chris Hogan forced yet another punt. Keion Crossen looked silly and the tackling was awful as Sims got a big gain. The Redskins cashed in on a bootleg TD a few plays later. The Patriots’ offense finally got some points when Devin Lucien got wide open for two plays. Then, Stephen Gostkowski converted on a 52-yard field goal. The Redskins led 17-3 at the end of the first half.
Second Half
The Patriots started off the third quarter with a clock-consuming drive. Brian Hoyer connected with Cordarrelle Patterson on third down and Mike Gillislee had some nice runs, including two fourth-down conversions. Jeremy Hill evaded a tackler on third down to extend the drive. Finally, he punched it in from the one to cut the deficit to seven.
The Redskins went three and out on the next drive due to a holding penalty that lead to third and long. The Patriots had a couple nice runs to start the third and final drive of the third. After three, the Redskins led the Patriots by a score of 17-10.
Ralph Webb, an undrafted free agent got some carries and had some good runs including a third-down conversion. Cordarrelle Patterson made an impressive juggling nineteen-yard catch to get the Pats on the fringe of the end zone. Webb finished off the drive on a seven-yard run. Then, he made a catch on a two-yard conversion to give the Patriots an 18-17 lead.
Courtesy of Pats Pulpit
Second Half Continued
After a penalty, the Redskins went 3 and out again. On the next drive, Danny Etling and Mike Gillislee had a bad exchange and the Redskins recovered the fumble. The Patriots forced a fumble in return and Gino Grissom brought it back to the one yard line. Ralph Webb walked into the end zone for his second score of the game. Bill Belichick went for two again, and Ralph Webb punched it in. Dustin Hopkins hit the upright on the following drive and the Patriots maintained a 26-17 lead. It would prove to be the final score.