1. Patriots Look Sharp, Briefly
The Patriots won the opening coin toss and decided to take the ball, sending an early message of confidence in their offense. The initial returns looked sharp, as Drake Maye helped orchestrate two first-down pickups thanks to an 11-yard catch and run by Hunter Henry and a 16-yard reception by Rhamondre Stevenson out of the backfield.
The Pats got as far as the Arizona 33 before the mistakes started to strike. First, rookie Layden Robinson committed a holding penalty, and that eventually led to a missed 53-yard field goal by Joey Slye. Just like that, the promising first drive was derailed and resulted in zero points.
The Pats defense managed to step up after the missed field goal, delivering a third-down stop after Arizona gained 26 yards on six plays. The Cards settled for a field goal from former Patriots Chad Ryland, good from 49 yards to give Arizona a 3-0 lead.
After a lackluster Patriots three-and-out running back James Conner ripped off a 53-yard run that jumpstarted a second scoring drive for the Cardinals. Their touchdown came from an unconventional play as Anfernee Jennings punched the ball out of receiver Greg Dortch’s hands on the goal line, only to see Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Williams pounce on the loose ball for the score. It was nearly a touchback and an excellent score-saving play by Jennings, but the Pats were catching the breaks.
Despite showing some early offensive promise, the mistakes started to add up for the Patriots as penalties, big plays and poor ball security all reared their ugly heads. The Patriots looked sloppy coming off their bye and fell into a 10-0 hole because of it.
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