FOXBOROUGH – Patriots football had their soft opening for the 2022 season on Thursday. They hosted the Giants for their preseason opener. They didn't play their starters though and lost, 23-21.

Here are seven initial observations from the Patriots' preseason opener:

Tyquan Thornton shines

The Patriots' second-round rookie only played the first few drives, but he gave enough reason for everyone to be optimistic after one preseason game.

Thornton created enough separation at the line of scrimmage off Giants starting corner Aaron Robinson. However, backup quarterback Brian Hoyer didn't lead Thornton on his throw, causing an incompletion.

Thornton's next target was one of the Patriots' top plays of the game. Hoyer connected with Thornton in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The rookie actually had to fight through a holding by Robinson for the score. Thornton added another catch in the second quarter for seven yards from fellow rookie Bailey Zappe. All in all a good day at the office for Thornton.

Terrance Mitchell makes plays

Mitchell was one of the few Patriots projected starters to play on Thursday night. He continued to show why he has the inside track to win the starting corner job opposite Jalen Mills. He covered a Daniel Jones pass to Kenny Golladay in the end zone well to force an incompletion.

In the second quarter, Mitchell hit the ball loose out of Giants receiver Collin Johnson's hands. Malcolm Butler made the recovery, giving the Patriots the ball in Giants territory.

Mitchell finished with four total tackles.

Backup receivers show out.

No starters? No problem, at least for the Patriots' receiving game.

Thornton's first-half performance was probably the biggest takeaway for many Patriots fans, but three other receivers had better overall nights than him.

Kristian Wilkerson was consistent all night long, finishing with eight receptions for 98 yards. He beat Robinson in 1-on-1 coverage along the sideline for a 33-yard reception in the first quarter that helped set the Patriots up for their first score of the game. Zappe also found him on a nice comeback route early in the fourth quarter, too.

Tre Nixon actually had a rough first half, committing a key drop on a third down. However, he emerged in the second half. Nixon caught a 36-yard pass from Zappe, adjusting mid-air to make the reception on a ball that was a tad underthrown. He also caught a 32-yard pass from Zappe that was similar.

Nixon finished with four receptions for 81 yards.

Lil'Jordan Humphrey also had a nice evening. He caught six passes for 62 yards, with one of them being a 20-yard touchdown grab from Zappe.

Bailey bounces back

Bailey Zappe's first preseason half wasn't pretty. He completed just 3-of-9 passes as the Patriots went three-and-out on two of his first three drives.

Zappe settled in though in the second half. He started 12-of-13, completing all kinds of passes. The big thing was that he was able to make the safe throws during that stretch. Zappe did connect for a few deep passes as mentioned earlier, but those throws were a bit underthrown.

Zappe did throw a pick. It came on a fourth down play though in which the quarterback needed to get the ball out quickly.

When the Patriots needed a score in the fourth, Zappe stepped up. He marched the Patriots down the field, completing 4-of-6 passes for 43 yards before connecting with Humphrey for the leading score.

Zappe didn't get a chance again, finishing with 19-of-32 with 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Running game non-existent

New England's first preseason game running the new offense didn't go great on the ground. It finished with just 52 rushing yards on 18 carries (2.9 per carry). Fourth-round rookie Pierre Strong Jr. had the longest rush, which was just nine yards. Sixth-round rookie Kevin Harris had a nice run at the goal line for a rushing touchdown, but he finished with only nine yards on six carries.

Linebackers have moments

Linebacker was arguably the biggest unknown for the Patriots entering the offseason. The first preseason game gave Patriots fans some moments of relaxation for the group of players who'll likely get a good amount of playing time.

Raekwon McMillan, who started at inside linebacker, finished with two tackles and a QB hit, which came on an untouched blitz up the middle. Mack Wilson, who also started at inside linebacker on Thursday, looked quick on the field, finishing with four solo tackles and an assisted tackle.

On the edge, Anferenee Jennings had a couple of tackles and a hard QB hit on Daniel Jones. Josh Uche also had a pair of tackles and recorded the Patriots' lone sack of the night.

One young corner looks shaky, another looked fine

Entering his fourth season, corner Joejuan Williams likely needed a strong training camp and preseason in order to make the roster. Thursday wasn't the best case of evidence for him to remain come cutdown day. He gave up the lone touchdown pass for the Giants in the game, getting spun by receiver Richie James for a seven-yard score. He also gave up a few more receptions during the game.

Fourth-round rookie Jack Jones appeared like he could've had a pick-6 on one pass from Davis Webb. But he wasn't able to fully adjust himself in order to make a clean play on the ball, forcing an incompletion instead on the second-half pass. Jones had a pass break-up later in the game.

Third-round rookie Marcus Jones didn't play on Thursday, suggesting he's in pretty good standing for playing time this season.