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Patriots 19, Panthers 17

Brady, Garoppolo have a time in Patriots’ victory

In his first action of the preseason, Tom Brady (right) led the Patriots to their only touchdown in the first half against the Panthers. Mike McCarn/Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While all eyes were trained on Tom Brady, it was the Patriots’ defense that made most of the eye-opening plays Friday night at Bank of America Stadium.

The Patriots applied wave after wave of pressure on Cam Newton and their swarming Scarlet Knights secondary — all three Patriot picks were from Rutgers — made the reigning MVP look pedestrian in a 19-17 exhibition win.

Playing well into the third quarter, Newton was an abysmal 13 of 29 for a mere 100 yards and a pair of interceptions. His 25.1 passer rating was so low it looked like a misprint on the stat sheet.

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Newton was sacked only once (Trey Flowers, again), but he was under the gun on every possession and couldn’t pull the trigger with any efficiency.

Jamie Collins, Elandon Roberts, Markus Kuhn, and Rufus Johnson (twice) nearly had additional sacks if not for Newton’s elite escapability.

Spearheading the pressure were Flowers and veteran Chris Long on the outside and several combinations on the inside, including the tandems of Malcom Brown and Vincent Valentine and Kuhn and Anthony Johnson.

The constant pressure forced Newton into poor decisions and forced and flatfooted throws, leading to first-half interceptions by Logan Ryan and Devin McCourty.

“We just kept working hard and kept getting after the quarterback,’’ said Flowers, who has 2½ sacks through three preseason games. “It’s all about affecting the quarterback. When he sees people in his face [constantly], he’s going to want to get the ball out fast, quicker than he really thinks he should.’’

Long was a force off the edge for the entire first half. He’s playing like he did early in his career as he continues his comeback from a few injury-plagued seasons.

“I feel good in that I’m working hard every day and just embracing whatever they throw at me,’’ said the 31-year-old Long, when asked about his health. “I’m just focused on the present. I know that sounds like a cliché, but’s really the only way to look at it.’’

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Long was impressed with the work of the guys up front.

“Well we have a good group and guys that are versatile and willing to do whatever they’re asked to do,’’ he said. “Our interior guys played well and it was certainly a great team effort on defense.’’

The secondary benefited greatly from the constant siege that Newton was under. McCourty’s interception came off a ball deflected by Long. Duron Harmon rounded out the Rutgers trio’s thievery with a pick of Panthers backup Derek Anderson.

“They did a great job,’’ said Ryan of the big bodies up front. “It made my coverage easier with the pressure they were getting. It made a lot of [Newton’s] balls erratic and it gave us a chance. And he’s a great player, so for him to have some balls that were off, that was great.’’

Some other observations as the Patriots moved to 3-0 on the preseason:

■  Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton was dressed and ready to go, but never got in the game. The big defensive tackle was left out of a rotation even though he said after the game he was “completely healthy.’’

Rookies Valentine and Woodrow Hamilton saw significant playing time ahead of the eight-year veteran.

“I have faith in my abilities and the coaching staff’s decisions, whatever those decisions are,’’ said Knighton, who indicated he expected to play. “I’m not looking for an explanation or anything. I’ll just come to work tomorrow. I still got a lot of ball left in me, so, it is what it is. It is disappointing. I’ve played a lot of ball in this league, but I’m not going to make a big deal of it.’’

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Coach Bill Belichick addressed the Knighton issue postgame.

“Some new techniques, some new things than what he’s been used to doing,’’ he said. “We played the young guys tonight, so we didn’t get as much of a look at him as some of the other players. He played a little more last week.”

“I think there’s good competition at that position. We just have to see how it all plays out.’’

■  Rookie Cyrus Jones continued to impress, working as both an inside and outside cornerback. His biggest contribution came on special teams, where his 60-yard punt return set up a Patriots touchdown. Jacoby Brissett’s 12-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Carter in the third quarter.

Jones has been working like a dog all summer on his punt returning and it paid off against the Panthers.

“Yeah I saw a [crease],’’ he said. “But first and foremost, I focused on catching the ball and then getting my eyes up field. I had great blocking on that play and just tried to make a cut and get up field as quick as possible.

■  Brissett was flawless. Statistically speaking, anyway.

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The third-round pick returned to the state where he finished his college career and played like an old pro. Brissett was 9 for 9 for 85 yards and the TD pass.

■  LeGarrette Blount rushed just five times but on his 17-yard scamper in the first quarter he showed that his hip is completely healthy, busting a few tackles and hurdling an unsuspecting Panther.

■  Julian Edelman returned to action for the first time in the preseason and made one catch for 6 yards.


Jim McBride can reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.