The New England Patriots take on the Carolina Panthers tonight for their third preseason bout, as the 2015 regular season creeps closer and closer. The third preseason game is generally the one most similar to a normal contest, as starters will play longer so coaches can begin to get a feel as to how their team will look come September.
For the Pats, I don’t know if it will be quite the same this year, because they are dealing with quite a few injuries right now. None of them are too serious, but they will likely keep more than a few prominent starters out of the preseason so they will be ready to go on the season opener.