Patriots Offense Delivers Loud Statement In Second Joint Practice

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Patriots offense had looked decent since the start of training camp, certainly better than it did last summer. But it still was looking for a statement performance.

Well, it delivered one Thursday — and emphatically.

New England bullied the Packers’ defense all day in what was a wild, skirmish-filled joint practice in the shadow of Lambeau Field. Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe both played well, but it was Jones who enjoyed one of his best practices since joining the Patriots.

Here are the final stats:

Jones: 14-of-17, five sacks, zero interceptions
Zappe: 18-of-27, three sacks, two interceptions.

The Patriots, who were solid but sloppy on offense Wednesday, started with a bang Thursday.

Jones was 4-of-5 during his first 11-on-11 period, including a beautiful 45-yard completion to receiver Tyquan Thornton. Unfortunately, Thornton’s best play of the summer ended with him suffering an upper-body injury and missing the rest of practice.

During the same period, Zappe went 2-for-3 with the one incompletion being a drop by rookie Kayshon Boutte, who otherwise enjoyed a great practice. This stretch also saw Ezekiel Elliott get his first 11-on-11 work since finalizing a one-year contract with the Patriots. He was a full participant Thursday and saw work with both quarterbacks.

But New England really took off once red zone work started.

Jones’ first attempt went sack, completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster, touchdown to Kendrick Bourne, incompletion, touchdown to DeVante Parker. Zappe then took over near the goal line and, after a sack, completed five straight touchdowns — one for Parker, one for Boutte, one for Anthony Firkser and two for Demario Douglas. The Patriots’ trash talk increased after each play, and Elliott was right in the middle of it.

Additional red zone periods saw both quarterbacks largely complete passes at will. Zappe through a couple of picks, and pressure occasionally was an issue, but Patriots pass-catchers basically had their way. Tre Nixon even got open for a beautiful 35-yard TD pass from Zappe. And when Elliott, Rhamondre Stevenson or Kevin Harris got carries, they met little resistance.

Finally, both quarterbacks punctuated their day with an impressive two-minute drive.

Zappe went 7-for-12 in his, including a touchdown to Boutte that drew an emotional reaction from Elliott. His drive did include a couple of bad overthrows and a false start by Bill Murray, though. Still, it was a good drive.

However, Jones’ two-minute drill was a showstopper. After a false start penalty, Jones completed three straight passes before getting sacked. Then, with Jabrill Peppers barking at Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander from New England’s sideline, Jones hit an in-stride Parker for a 50-yard touchdown. The Patriots sideline emptied to the end zone, and a fired-up Jones was losing his mind at midfield. It was good stuff.

When the dust settled, here were the stats for Patriots pass-catchers:

Demario Douglas: nine catches on 11 targets, one drop, two TDs
Kayshon Boutte: two catches on five targets, one drop, two TDs
JuJu Smith-Schuster: four catches on four targets
DeVante Parker: three catches on four targets, three TDs
Kendrick Bourne: one catch on one target, one TD
Tre Nixon: one catch on one target, one TD
Tyquan Thornton: one catch on one target, one TD (also drew DPI)
Raleigh Webb: one catch on one target
Malik Cunningham: zero catches on zero targets
Thyrick Pitts: zero catches on zero targets
Rhamondre Stevenson: two catches on three targets
Ezekiel Elliott: one catch on one target
J.J. Taylor: two catches on two targets
Kevin Harris: zero catches on zero targets
Hunter Henry: two catches on two targets
Anthony Firkser: three catches on four targets, one TD
Scotty Washington: zero catches on zero targets
Johnny Lumpkin: zero catches on zero targets
Matt Sokol: zero catches on zero targets

Matthew Judon on Ezekiel Elliott, who brought a lot of energy today and was a full participant pic.twitter.com/ZulsliUiyQ

— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) August 17, 2023

By the way: Cunningham didn’t see any quarterback reps a day after seeing four. Trace McSorley got mop-up reps to finish practice.

All in all, it was the most encouraging performance from a Patriots offense in a long time. Most importantly, Jones and his weapons displayed an ability to make big, explosive plays in important situations.

The Patriots now will take Friday off before facing the Packers Saturday night in a preseason matchup. After that, New England will travel to Nashville where next week it’ll square off with the Titans in more joint practices and a preseason game.