Back to the New England Patriots Newsfeed

The rookie class shines, and more takeaways from the Patriots’ preseason loss to the Texans

After months of waiting, NFL football finally returned to Foxborough on Thursday night. The New England Patriots played host to the Houston Texans in both teams’ preseason opener, losing the game with a final score of 20-9.

It might have only been an exhibition game and therefore has no impact on the standings, but there was still a lot to see. Let’s clean out the notebook and get into our takeaways from the Patriots’ first game of the 2023 season.

1. Malik Cunningham stars: Undrafted rookie free agent Malik Cunningham walked away from Week 1 of the Patriots’ preseason as the star of the night.