The Patriots returned to Gillette Stadium shortly after 3 a.m. and not long after, the coaching staff began breaking down the game film of the preseason opener. The outcome may not have been to their liking, but there were aspects of the 23-6 defeat that could be taken as positives, according to Bill Belichick.
The main one, of course, was the play of rookie QB Jimmy Garoppolo, who led New England on its only scoring drive of the night and nearly directed a couple of others. It was easily his best performance since becoming a Patriots – noticeably better than he'd been in practice to that point.
"When you look at the overall opportunities that Jimmy's had from the beginning of OTAs through training camp, it's in the high 20s somewhere – the number of practice days. Just because a player makes a mistake, doesn't mean they're always going to be there," New England's head coach told reporters via conference call Friday afternoon.
"You'd like to think that some of them will be corrected, and the next time the situations occur, the reactions are executionally better. I think we see that with pretty much every young player, including him. I think there were some things he did well last night, some other things he learned from."
View photos from the Patriots preseason game against the Washington Redskins on Thursday, August 7, 2014.
New England Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis warms up before an NFL football preseason game against Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots helmets are carried across the field before an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III warms up before an NFL football preseason game against the New England Patriots in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warms up before an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Richard Lipski)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warms up before an NFL football preseason game against the New England Patriots in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warms up before an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warms up before an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Richard Lipski)
New England Patriots assistant coach Michael Lombardi. left, shakes hands with oach Bill Belichick before an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick looks across the field before an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) stands in the tunnel with his teammates before heading out on to the field for an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Brandy was not expected to play during the game. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III waits to be introduced before the first half of an NFL football preseason game against the New England Patriots in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Richard Lipski)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady stands on the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett scrambles out of the pocket during the first half of an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler breaks up a pass intended for Washington Redskins wide receiver Aldrick Robinson during the first half of an NFL football preseason game in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Richard Lipski)
New England Patriots running back Roy Finch and Washington Redskins defensive back Akeem Davis chase a loose ball during the second half of an NFL football preseason game in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick during the second half of teh Patriots' NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Connor Radnovich)
New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passes the ball during the second half of an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Connor Radnovich)
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick watches the action from the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Connor Radnovich)
New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo scrambles the ball during the second half of an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Connor Radnovich)
New England Patriots running back Roy Finch is hauled to the turf by Washington Redskins inside linebacker Will Compton during the first half of an NFL football preseason game in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Connor Radnovich)
New England Patriots wide receiver Brian Tyms loses control of the ball in the end zone on a hit from Washington Redskins defensive back Chase Minnifield during the second half of an NFL football preseason game in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots wide receiver Brian Tyms climbs out of the end-zone seats after landing there following a touchdown catch during the second half of an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. The Redskins defeated the Patriots 23-6. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
New England Patriots wide receiver Brian Tyms (84) is congratulated by his teammates after a touchdown catch during the second half of an NFL football preseason game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. The Redskins defeated the Patriots 23-6. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Belichick noted that while Garoppolo continued to make a few of the same mistakes in certain situations, he'd also make progress in other correcting mistakes in other areas of his game. That seemed to be Belichick's assessment as well for his team overall last night.
"There were plenty of times when we did things right and had decent results. We just didn't do it often enough. Sometimes we did it on certain portions of the play, but not others, which may or may not have produced a good result. The team competed till the end. We had a 4th-down stop and then scored on the 2-minute drive. We played competitively, just overall didn't play very well."
Garoppolo nearly hooked up with second-year receiver Brian Tyms on a deep ball in the end zone that bounced off both Tyms and the defender covering him. Tyms appeared to come down with the catch before the ball hit the ground, but the play was ruled incomplete (although a pass interference was also assessed against Washington).
Belichick acknowledged that he and his staff considered challenging the play, but that they didn't have enough good replay angles to make a decision in time before the next play.
"I thought that was actually a good situation that came up on our end," he added. New England kept the ball and had four shots at the end zone from the Redskins' 5-yard line. Garoppolo nearly threw a TD on the final play, but it was batted down in the back of the end zone at the last moment.
The team will have Saturday off, but at this point, it's unclear if they'll next get back on the practice field Sunday or Monday. For certain, they'll be there on Tuesday, when they'll welcome the Philadelphia Eagles for joint practices in advance of next Friday's second preseason game.
"Looking forward to this week," said Belichick. "It'll be a big opportunity for our team, for each of us individually to improve on where we were last night and last week with Washington."
