The New England Patriots didn't play many offensive or defensive starters in Thursday night's 23-21 loss to the New York Giants in the preseason opener at Gillette Stadium, and that gave the rookies a great opportunity to impress the coaching staff.
Tyquan Thornton made an impact early by scoring the Patriots' first touchdown of the preseason. The speedy wide receiver fought through a defensive holding penalty by Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson and caught a two-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Brian Hoyer to put the Patriots on the scoreboard.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
New England's second touchdown was scored by rookie running back Kevin Harris, who ran up the middle from three yards out to give the Patriots a 14-10 lead after their opening drive of the third quarter.
The Patriots' other rookie running back, Pierre Strong Jr., had six carries for 25 yards, including a nine-yard run in the fourth quarter, which was the longest of the game for the Pats.
Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe saw a ton of action Thursday night. He took over in the second quarter on New England's third drive. Zappe looked a little nervous to start and was inaccurate on several throws.
He completed just two of his first six pass attempts, and it didn't help that the offensive line had some pass protection breakdowns in the first half. Zappe was much better in the second half, particularly on the opening drive when he connected with wide receiver Tre Nixon on pass plays of 36 and 32 yards.
Zappe's worst mistake came in the third quarter when he was intercepted by Giants linebacker Austin Calitro.
Zappe bounced back from the interception and led the Patriots on a go-ahead touchdown drive with 4:51 remaining. The Giants brought the blitz and Zappe found wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey for a 20-yard touchdown.
"I thought he was calm all night," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said when asked about Zappe's performance. "We're all going to learn from things. He'll learn from things. He made some good plays. That's part of the learning process."
Here's how the Patriots' offensive rookies fared against the Giants:
New England Patriots
Bailey Zappe, QB: 19/32 for 205 yards, one TD, one INT
Kevin Harris, RB: Six carries, nine rushing yards, one TD; one reception, minus-2 receiving yards
Pierre Strong Jr., RB: Six carries, 25 rushing yards; one reception, zero receiving yards
Tyquan Thornton, WR: Two receptions, nine receiving yards, one TD
Cole Strange, OL: Zero penalties, zero sacks allowed