JEROD MAYO MAKES HIS HEAD COACHING DEBUT
Jerod Mayo, who was hired as the 15th head coach in team history on Jan. 17, 2024, made his NFL head coaching debut with a 17-3 win against Carolina. Mayo is the fourth person to be named head coach after playing for the previous coach (Bill Belichick) with the same team since the 1970 merger. The others are Mike Tice of Minnesota (under Dennis Green), Jack Pardee of Washington (under George Allen) and Bart Starr of Green Bay (under Dan Devine).
PATRIOTS DEFENSE GENERATES FIVE SACKS
The Patriots defense generated five sacks against Carolina with one each from LB Christian Ellis, DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr., LB Oshane Ximines, DE Deatrich Wise Jr., and DE Josh Morgan. Last season, the Patriots registered five sacks in a game two times with five sacks at Denver (12/24) and six sacks at New York Giants 11/26).
GAME CAPTAINS
David Andrews and Kyle Dugger served as game captains for the coin toss.
JACOBY BRISSETT MAKES THE START
QB Jacoby Brissett started the game and played the first series of the game. Brissett will become the 30th player to have at least two stints with the Patriots since 2000 (on the active roster with the Patriots for at least one game in each stint; on the active roster with another team for at least one game in between). Brissett originally joined New England as a third-round draft pick in 2016 and played in three games with two starts as a rookie. He was traded to Indianapolis at the end of training camp in 2016 and has also played with Miami, Cleveland and Washington before being re-signed with the Patriots this past offseason.
DRAKE MAYE MAKES NFL DEBUT ON THE SECOND OFFESIVE POSSESSION
Patriots 2024 first-round draft pick QB Drake Maye entered the game for the second offensive possession. His first pass completion resulted in a 13-yard gain to RB Antonio Gibson. He also had a 6-yard pass to RB Kevin Harris.
ZAPPE ENTERED THE GAME FOR THE THIRD SERIES
QB Bailey Zappe entered the game in the third offensive series and played the rest of the first half and into the third quarter. He finished 12-of-20 for 108 yards. He completed a 28-yard pass to WR Kayshon Boutte to help position the Patriots for their first touchdown.
MILTON ENTERS GAME LATE IN THE THIRD QUARTER
2024 sixth-round draft pick QB Joe Milton III entered the game late in the third quarter. He completed his first pass to WR Javon Baker for a 5-yard gain. He also completed a 38-yard touchdown pass to WR JaQuae Jackson in the fourth quarter and finished 4-of-6 for 54 yards.
MCMILLAN STARTS AT LINEBACKER
LB Raekwon McMillan returned to action with a start at linebacker after spending the entire 2023 season on injured reserve. He finished with 1 special teams tackle on the game's opening kickoff.
SIX NEWLY ACQUIRED PATRIOTS PLAYERS WERE IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Jaylinn Hawkins started at safety on defense and QB Jacoby Brissett, T Chukwuma Okorafor, TE Austin Hooper, TE Mitchell Wilcox and WR K.J. Osborn started on offense.
SCHOOLER SEES ACTION AT SAFETY
S Brenden Schooler saw action on defense at safety. Last season, he played in his first and only defensive snaps of his career on a Hail Marry attempt on the final plays vs. Buffalo (10/22) and at Denver (12/24).
BARINGER CONNECTS ON A 56-YARD PUNT
P Bryce Baringer connected on a 56-yard punt in the first quarter, a 51-yard punt in the second quarter and a 53-yard punt in the third quarter. He had at least one 50-yard punt in all 17 games in 2023 as a rookie., the longest single-season streak in team history. The NFL record for the longest streak with at least one 50-yard punt since 1970 is 38 by Shane Lechler (2007-10).
ROOKIE FREE AGENT WR DAVID WALLIS' PUNT RETURN SETS UP PATS FIRST POINTS
Rookie free agent WR David Wallis from Randolph Macon returned a punt 23 yards in the second quarter to the Carolina 31-yard line. The play helped set up a 2-yard touchdown run by RB Kevin Harris.
ALL EIGHT OF THE 2024 DRAFT SELECTIONS MADE THEIR NFL DEBUTS
All eight of the Patriots 2024 draft picks played in their first NFL game - QB Drake Maye (first-round), WR Ja'Lynn Polk (second-round), T Caedan Wallace (third-round), G Layden Robinson (fourth-round), WR Javon Baker (fourth-round), CB Marcellas Dial Jr. (sixth-round), QB Joe Milton II (sixth-round) and TE Jaheim Bell (seventh-round).
