Image courtesy of Sports Illustrated

By Jon Lyons
NEFJ Correspondent

The Patriots defeated the Packers 21-17 in their second preseason game on Saturday night. More importantly, the game was suspended in the fourth quarter due to a serious injury sustained by Patriots corner Isaiah Bolden. Our thoughts are with him. Though less meaningful, here are five players that stood out during the game:

Mac Jones

Jones started the game, his first preseason action of 2022 and his first game action since Bill O’Brien took over as offensive coordinator. Jones led a touchdown drive on his first series. An RPO read and throw on a slant to Kendrick Bourne stood out.

Demario Douglas

Douglas entered the game in the first quarter and had an immediate impact. He had a 3rd Down conversion on 3rd and 10 and made a positive gain on a quick screen that looked destined to be a loss of yards. The third down conversion was a good job of Douglas seeing a hole in zone coverage.

Kendrick Bourne

Bourne started and was a large part of the offense in the first half. He had a catch on the Patriots first drive on a slant RPO from Mac Jones and made a leaping catch for a first down early in the second quarter. Bourne finished with three catches for 34 yards. Hopefully this is a sign that he will be a large part of the offense in 2023.

Sam Roberts

Roberts stood out for negative reasons, unfortunately. He had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a hit while Jordan Love was sliding. He also had an illegal hands to face penalty in red zone.

Kayshon Boutte

Boutte had a quiet start to camp, but has come on as of late. That continued against Green Bay. He had two catches for 49 yards, the highlight of which was a 42-yard catch and run for a touchdown in the second quarter. Boutte caught a slant route and raced away from the Green Bay defense for the score.