FOXBOROUGH- The Patriots made their 2024 season debut on Thursday night in a 17-3 win over the Carolina Panthers. It was far from pretty. The game was a slog until Joe Milton came in and gave the Patriots offense a spark. He played well in the fourth quarter and gave Patriots fans something to cheer about.

Here are seven points on tonight’s game.

1.Maye plays one series: Drake Maye played only one series in the first quarter, completing 2-of-3 passes for 19 yards. After the game, Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo said that was the plan going into the game.

“That was always the plan. The plan was to get him in there for one series, to get Jacoby in there for one series, and then really turn it into the Zappe show and then the Joe show. That was the plan going in.”

Expect Maye to play more next week but don’t expect more than two to four series. The Patriots are handling him with kid gloves.

2. Offensive tackles struggle: I cannot believe I am saying this but the offensive line appears to be a problem again, specifically the left tackle position. Vedarian Lowe got the start and after a strong camp, he struggled tonight. The offensive line in general had a tough time. The good news is, Scott Peters is a good offensive line coach with a good support staff. He will do his best to find the right combination and get it fixed.

3. Zappe plays the most snaps: Zappe played seven series in the game completing 12-of-20 passes for 108 yards. It was unexpected and even Zappe himself was surprised he played so much.

“I knew when I was going in and who I was going after but I did not know how long it was going to be.”

Sounds like it was a lot longer than Zappe anticipated but despite that, he made the most of it and played well enough to lead a touchdown drive. Oddly enough, part of me feels like he may have been showcased a little too by the team.

4. Milton Magic: Milton stole the show when he came in. He made a spectacular 12 yard run to extend a drive on his first possession. The drive did end up stalling but Milton got the crowd going. He would later have another long run of 13 yards before throwing a 38 yard touchdown pass to Ja’Que Jackson. Milton finished 4-of-6 for 54 yards and a touchdown pass. He created a quarterback conundrum with his play. If he keeps this up, the Patriots will have a tough decision to make with the third quarterback spot.

5.Defensive line dominates: The defensive line dominated in this game. All three groups that played got consistent pressure on quarterback Jack Plummer and made his life miserable. Jeremiah Pharms in particular had a strong game. He routinely got pressure and forced Plummer from the pocket. It helps that the Patriots were aggressive with T-E stunts. Mayo was pleased with the play of the defensive line.

“They play with a lot of energy. We were, I would say as a whole, the most physical team on the field today. It starts up front, starts with the offensive line, it starts with the defensive line; I thought those guys played well.”

6.Penalties need to be cleaned up: Patriots have to play cleaner, especially on offense. They had four penalties in the first quarter. New England finished with 6 penalties for 45 yards. I am sure Mayo would want his team to play cleaner than they did tonight.

7. Starters play a fair amount: The starters played more than anyone anticipated but Mayo wanted them to get their feet wet and get into a rhythm. They were able to that, especially the defense. Despite that, Mayo says that there are plenty of things that need to be cleaned up.