Jimmy Garoppolo pulled through once again (along with third stringer Jacoby Brissett) as the Pats slightly defeated the Chicago Bears 23-22 and there is a lot to be looking forward to. Garoppolo went 16/21 on completions, 181 yards in the air, and threw a touchdown to second year TE A.J. Derby.
Speaking of Derby, he led all receivers with yards (71) and was the only receiver to score. Derby caught 6 balls and was targeted 7 times so this shows that Derby consistently kept up with catching the football and made a strong case for why he should stay with the Patriots going forward. Fellow tight end Martellus Bennett, who is essentially guaranteed a roster spot, had 2 catches for 26 yards but his production will be much more when the regular season rolls around.
On the ground, RB LeGarrette Blount and RB Tyler Gaffney had a combined 22 carries and Blount had a goal line touchdown in the 2nd quarter to take the 17-11 lead over the Bears at the half. Gaffney, who had been struggling with injuries that took over the past two years, finally got to show who the real Tyler Gaffney is as this week and last week were strong performances from the third year hybrid back out of Stanford. The running back positions for the Patriots are going to difficult to cut down when the 53 man roster needs to be finalized because all of the running backs play important roles in the system. Blount, Gaffney, Foster, Bolden, White, Iosefa, Lewis and Donald Brown all have unique skill sets but only 4 or 5 will make the roster.
The offensive line, which has provided relatively good support in the running game, has shown good progress starting with rookie Joe Thuney out of North Carolina State University. Thuney, who has been starting ever since training camp, is a probable starter for the regular season coming up.
On the defensive side of the ball, DL Anthony Johnson, second year guy out of LSU, was the breakout performer for the Pats last night as he assisted on a sack with Trey Flowers and had another tackle himself along with a deflected pass. Johnson, who came legitimately out of nowhere, has broken out as a player to earn a roster spot and show his unique sets of skills during the 2016 season. Along with Johnson on the front 7, Trey Flowers once again kept up the consistency of rushing the QB and making plays as well.
In the secondary, Cyrus Jones continues to shine as he picked off former Patriots backup QB Brian Hoyer and continued to serve as the primary punt returner.
Next game for the Patriots is next Friday the 26th at the Carolina Panthers.
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