The New England Patriots will host the Carolina Panthers on Friday in the second preseason game for both teams. Carolina is coming off a 23-21 win over Washington last week. New England lost 23-21 to the New York Giants on Thursday. These two teams had scheduled joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday as well.
During the 2021 regular season, New England beat Carolina in Charlotte, 24-6 during Week 9.
The Panthers are led by head coach Matt Rhule, who is 10-23 in the regular season over two seasons. In the preseason, he is 2-2 straight up. Carolina controlled most of the opening game against Washington, leading 20-6 heading into the fourth quarter of that contest.
Joint Practice Observations: It got a little heated between the Panthers and Patriots, plus the latest from the session, and some injury updates worth keeping an eye on. https://t.co/OOPmlpf2qr
— Darin Gantt (@daringantt) August 16, 2022
The Panthers have an interesting quarterback battle going on between Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. Mayfield got the start in the opening game against Washington and went 4 for 7 with 45 passing yards, leading Carolina to a field goal on the game's opening drive. Sam Darnold came in next and sent 2 for 3 for 16 yards with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins. The rest of the quarterback rotation got most of the snaps, with PJ Walker going 10 for 19 with 139 yards. Rookie Matt Corral, who was selected in the third round out of Ole Miss struggling, going 1 for 9 with 11 passing yards. The Panthers' rushing attack picked up 93 yards on 30 carries, led by undrafted rookie Spencer Brown with 36 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.
Carolina's first-round draft pick, who was selected No. 6 overall, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, has been another fun story to follow and has been announced that he will be the team's starter going forward. He will be vital to protecting whoever wins the starting quarterback position as the Panthers ranked as the fifth worst team in the NFL with 52 sacks allowed in 2021.