Sportsnaut
The Patriots took the field for their preseason opener on Friday night, and it couldn’t have gone much better for the team. The Patriots dominated the Commanders for much of the night and walked away with a 48-18 win.
In the preseason, the score and final result doesn’t matter as much as the individual performances do. And, when you win by 30 points, it’s safe to assume there were plenty of solid performances to talk about.
The game started off as exciting as possible when rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson took the opening kickoff 100 yards back to the house. Drake Maye began the game as the quarterback, but he attempted just five passes and didn’t want to do to much, which is understandable.
On defense, the team definitely looked to be playing with a ton of energy and excitement. The unit forced two turnovers and allowed just three points in the first half.
Now, let’s identify the biggest winners and losers from the Patriots’ opener.
As mentioned above, Henderson couldn’t have had a better start to his NFL career. The rookie had a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown, had one run for 18 yards, and caught three passes for 12 yards.
TREVEYON HENDERSON 100-YD KICKOFF RETURN TD WITH HIS FIRST NFL TOUCH 😱
(via @Patriots)pic.twitter.com/bPBeLpn3ZR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 8, 2025
Henderson definitely made the most out of his limited opportunities and gave the team plenty of reasons to be excited about his future. Rhamondre Stevenson is still in place as the lead back, but Henderson is making a case to split carries with the veteran and also be a reliable weapon on special teams.
Baker had an incredible summer and seemingly helped his case to be one of the final receivers on the roster. The former fourth-round pick had excellent chemistry with Joshua Dobbs in camp and was one of the most productive receivers in practice.
Thus, many were hoping to see Baker make an impact in the preseason opener and separate himself from the pack. Instead, Baker was only targeted twice and didn’t come down with a catch. Leaving the first game without any offensive stats is disappointing, even if it isn’t entirely Baker’s fault.
Baker did pick up a couple tackles on special teams, which is definitely something Mike Vrabel appreciates, but it would’ve been nice to see some more production.
Craig Woodson has been probably the most impressive rookei on defense this summer, and he continued to shine in the preseason opener.
Woodson led the team with five tackles and also picked up a quarterback hit. The one negative was a potential tackle for loss that Woodson missed, but other than that, it was a solid performance for the rookie. Woodson is proving that he’s ready for the moment and could end up playing a large role as a rookie.
Dobbs...
