On a night where there weren't many sparks for the New England Patriots, undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham provided a big one in the 20-9 preseason-opening loss to the Houston Texans.

Cunningham played both wide receiver and quarterback. While he didn't record a target during his snaps at receiver, Cunningham dazzled in the lone drive he played at quarterback. He was really the only Patriots player to generate any yards on the ground, rushing for 34 yards on five scrambles on a night that New England struggled to do much offensively. In addition, he completed 3-of-4 passes for 19 yards before rushing for a nine-yard touchdown to cap off a 14-play, 75-yard drive.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was a bit of his usual self when asked about Cunningham's play on Thursday, but he also dropped praise, too.

“Yeah, did a nice job,” Belichick said of Cunningham's drive at quarterback. “Showed some poise out there, some toughness. Moved the team. That was nice. Did a nice job.”

Even though Cunningham starred at quarterback during his six years at Louisville, he's played the vast majority of his snaps at practice at wide receiver since he joined the Patriots this offseason.

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That changed a bit though this week. In the team's final practices ahead of Thursday's game, Cunningham got some run again at quarterback, leaving open the idea that he could play his old position in Thursday's game.

“He's been working at those spots all week,” Belichick said when asked if it was planned to have Cunningham play quarterback on Thursday.

Cunningham has embraced his role at wide receiver, a position he's never played before, so far through the offseason in training camp. He's also spoken with and used Julian Edelman as motivation, as the Patriots icon also made the change from quarterback to receiver when he reached the NFL.

This week certainly could've been a challenge for Cunningham as he juggled two positions in his first NFL game. Belichick praised him again when he was asked about the difficulty of balancing playing both positions.

“Yeah, I don't know,” Belichick said. “That's his opportunity. He's done a good job with it. He's embraced it, he's worked hard, he's improved a lot as a receiver. Snaps he's had at quarterback in practice and tonight, he's done a pretty good job.”