Third quarter, 6:49, Patriots 9-3: More ugliness on offense for the Patriots. Garoppolo and the Patriots just went three-and-out again. Garoppolo is 9 of 15 for 57 yards so far, and his performance has been worse than the numbers appear.
Third quarter, 7:49, Patriots 9-3: The Panthers finally got on the board, and it was while Cam Newton was playing against the Patriots’ second-team defense. The Panthers had to settle for a field goal after incompletions from Newton on second and third down.
Third quarter, 11:51, Patriots 9-0: The Patriots strung together a seven-play drive but turned the ball over on downs after LeGarrette Blount couldn’t pick up a yard on fourth down.
Halftime, Patriots 9-0: Garoppolo struggled in the first half, while Brady made a terrific throw to Chris Hogan for a touchdown.
— Tyler Gaffney looked good in limited reps.
— Defensive tackle Terrance Knighton has yet to take a defensive snap. The Patriots have rotated Malcolm Brown, Vincent Valentine and Markus Kuhn on early downs. Anthony Johnson has played on third down and made an impact.
— Defensive standouts include DE Chris Long, CB Logan Ryan, CB Cre’Von LeBlanc, DE Trey Flowers and LB Jamie Collins.
— Hogan looks like he’ll be a solid second or third wideout for the Patriots. Blount had 22 yards on three carries.
End half, Patriots 9-0: The Patriots’ defense forced another three-and-out, and with 56 seconds left, Garoppolo took two knees to end the half.
Dont’a Hightower made a great tackle on a 3-yard completion to Brenton Bersin on first down. Cre’Von LeBlanc and Justin Coleman were in coverage on second- and third-down incompletions.
Second quarter, 1:39, Patriots 9-0: It hasn’t been a pretty first half for Jimmy Garoppolo. He’s now 5 of 9 for 37 yards. He just fumbled as he scrambled away from pressure, but James White recovered the ball. The Patriots punted. Newton is back in the game.
Second quarter, 2:08, Patriots 9-0: These drives are going by QUICK. The Patriots defense forced another three and out as Newton came back into the game for the Panthers.
Second quarter, 3:00, Patriots 9-0: The Patriots quickly went three and out in Brady’s fourth drive. He threw two incompletions and was sacked.
Second quarter, 3:50, Patriots 9-0: Panthers quarterbacks have now thrown three interceptions to former Rutgers defensive backs. Duron Harmon just picked off Derek Anderson to complete the trifecta. Logan Ryan had the first one, and Devin McCourty picked off the second.
Second quarter, 7:02, Patriots 9-0: The Patriots only managed one first down, on a LeGarrette Blount 17-yard run, on Brady’s third drive. The drive ended on an AJ Derby drop.
Stephen Gostkowski missed a 52-yard field goal — his second of the game.
Second quarter, 10:02, Patriots 9-0: The Patriots put their backup cornerbacks in the game, and they’re still forcing three and outs. UDFA CB Cre’Von LeBlanc forced an incompletion on second down.
Second quarter, 10:02, Patriots 9-0: Tom Brady can get out of the game now.
He just dropped a dime on a 33-yard touchdown catch by Chris Hogan.
Running back Tyler Gaffney also had a 24-yard run earlier in the drive. The Patriots failed to convert on their two-point attempt.
I think it’s time to give Jimmy the ball back now.
Second quarter, 11:38, Patriots 3-0: The Panthers were putting together a decent drive until Newton threw his second INT of the game. Chris Long, dropping into coverage from defensive end, tipped the ball up to safety Devin McCourty for the interception.
First quarter, :23, Patriots 3-0: The Patriots finally scored. Tom Brady came into the game and immediately hooked up with Aaron Dobson for a 37-yard catch and run.
Brady threw two incompletions near the goal line, and the Patriots had to settle for a field goal.
First quarter, 2:03: The Patriots forced a turnover on downs thanks to a fourth-down incompletion from Newton. Butler made a nice pass breakup over tight end Ed Dickson earlier in the drive.
First quarter, 6:40: The Patriots first-quarter offensive woes have not subsided. Garoppolo was called for intentional grounding on second down, setting up third and 26. James White lost 3 yards on third down, and the Patriots were forced to punt.
First quarter, 6:40: Logan Ryan is beasting in his first preseason game of the summer. Newton is now 0 of 4 targeting Ryan, and the Patriots cornerback ended the Panthers’ drive with an interception. He also drew an offensive pass interference penalty.
First quarter, 7:36: The Panthers forced their own three-and-out aided by a hold by Edelman.
Garoppolo is 4 of 6 for 25 yards so far. Gaffney had a 7-yard run called back because of Edelman’s holding penalty.
First quarter, 9:22: The Patriots forced another three-and-out, aided by a holding penalty on first down. Panthers QB Cam Newton is 0 of 3 targeting cornerback Logan Ryan so far. DE Trey Flowers capped the drive with a sack. He has 2.5 on the preseason.
First quarter, 11:16: We’re still scoreless despite a pretty nice drive by the Patriots that started with a 17-yard completion to Chris Hogan followed by a 14-yard run by Tyler Gaffney.
The Patriots got to the 12-yard line before Garoppolo threw a near-INT on third down on a pass intended for Edelman. Stephen Gostkowski missed a 30-yard field goal.
First quarter, 13:47: The Patriots forced a three-and-out. Cornerback Logan Ryan was targeted twice on two incompletions. Rookie LB Elandon Roberts and DT Vincent Valentine drew surprise starts.
Roberts made a nice 1-yard stop on Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart.
Jimmy Garoppolo is starting at QB for the Patriots.
First quarter, 15:00: The Patriots lost the coin toss, and the Panthers elected to receive.
Tom Brady came out for the coin toss, which is extremely rare.
7:06 p.m.: These players look set to make their preseason debuts:
WR Julian Edelman
QB Tom Brady
CB Logan Ryan
S Nate Ebner
TE Bryce Williams
WR Keshawn Martin
6:59 p.m.: It appears we won’t see the following players tonight:
TE Rob Gronkowski
RB Dion Lewis (PUP)
WR Malcolm Mitchell
LB Kamu Grugier-Hill
DE Rob Ninkovich
DE Shea McClellin
G Tre’ Jackson (PUP)
G Jonathan Cooper
G Shaq Mason
OT Sebastian Vollmer (PUP)
WR Danny Amendola (PUP)
DE Jabaal Sheard
DT Alan Branch
DE/LB Barkevious Mingo
6:56 p.m.:
6:45 p.m.: Julian Edelman is in uniform.
6 p.m.: It appears Mingo won’t play.
Mingo will wear Jerod Mayo’s old number.
5:18 p.m.: Barkevious Mingo is warming up on the field. Could he play tonight?
5:07 p.m.: Jimmy Garoppolo will start tonight, but Tom Brady also is expected to play, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
5 p.m.: It appears rookie running back D.J. Foster and safety Nate Ebner could make their preseason debuts tonight.
4:55 p.m.: Julian Edelman did not play in either of the Patriots’ first two preseason games. It remains to be seen whether he’ll play in this one, but the wide receiver was seen warming up on the field a few hours before kickoff, according to reporters on the scene at Bank of America Stadium. — Z.C.
4:10 p.m.: The Patriots will be without rookie linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill tonight, according to a report from ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss.
Grugier-Hill, a sixth-round draft pick, has a strong chance of cracking the 53-man roster as a core special teamer. The Eastern Illinois product played in each of New England’s first two preseason games, totaling six tackles and one pass breakup. — Zack Cox
Noon ET: The New England Patriots’ third preseason game is just hours away, and we still don’t know who’s starting at quarterback.
Tom Brady reportedly will play against the Carolina Panthers, but it seems like getting Jimmy Garoppolo a start on the road before the regular season begins would be much more valuable to the Patriots.
It would be odd to see Garoppolo starting a game over Brady, however. Bill Belichick has a difficult decision to make.
Here are the Patriots players we’re not expecting to see tonight:
RB Dion Lewis (PUP)
WR Danny Amendola (PUP)
WR Malcolm Mitchell (elbow)
G Tre’ Jackson (PUP)
G Jonathan Cooper (foot)
G Shaq Mason (hand)
OT Sebastian Vollmer (PUP)
DE Rob Ninkovich (triceps)
DE Jabaal Sheard (knee)
DE/LB Shea McClellin (undisclosed injury)
Here are players we might not see tonight:
WR Julian Edelman (precautionary)
TE Rob Gronkowski (precautionary)
DT Alan Branch (recent suspension)
DE/LB Barkevious Mingo (recently acquired)
We’ll likely see these players for the first time this preseason:
QB Tom Brady
RB D.J. Foster
WR Keshawn Martin
WR Matthew Slater
TE Bryce Williams
CB Logan Ryan
There is some precedent that says Mingo might play. The Patriots acquired tight end Tim Wright on Aug. 26, 2014, and he played Aug. 28 against the New York Giants. Mingo reportedly flew to Carolina to meet up with the Patriots after he was traded by the Cleveland Browns.
Here are 10 players to watch in tonight’s matchup.
The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and airs locally on WBZ-TV. Check here for full broadcast info.
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