FOXBOROUGH, Mass. —A look inside the numbers from Thursday's 17-3 loss at New England.

• With his three receptions for 48 yards (average 16.0 yards per reception) veteran tight end Jordan Matthews saw his best output since Week 6 of the 2018 regular season, when he had four receptions for 93 yards, while still with the Philadelphia Eagles.

It's his best performance at all since officially switching positions from wide receiver to tight end in 2021.

Matthews is a versatile player who has caught the eye of coaches during training camp, offering some leadership and perspective to a young group.

• The big numbers that stood out to coach Dave Canales afterward were the nine penalties for 61 yards. He wasn't thrilled with some of the pre-snap penalties, which the Panthers will need to clean up when the regulars were on the field.

• Safety Alex Cook started and had five tackles, and had a special teams tackle. He stepped in and started two games last year after they signed him off the Giants practice squad, and impressed with his grasp of the defense. The safety position is a crowded one, but he has looked good so far in camp.

SNAP COUNTS

Take a look at the snap counts and playtime percentage for the Panthers in Week 1 of the preseason at New England.

• A hearty salute to offensive linemen Brady Christensen, Chandler Zavala, and Ricky Lee, who played every snap of a preseason game out of necessity. Particular credit goes to Christensen, who started all 17 games in 2022, before a season-ending injury in last year's opener.
• Jonathan Mingo was the lone offensive starter (at least according to the depth chart) to suit up on offense Thursday night, and he played just 11 snaps. He had one catch and a drop, before heading to the sidelines for the night.

• Without the starters and with Jaden Crumedy suffering an ankle injury during the game, the rest of the defensive linemen had to pull full shifts. T.J. Smith continued to build on a solid camp, playing two-thirds of the snaps as he competes for a roster spot up front.

• Among the guys who could be starters or regular rotational players this year, most of them played about a third of the snaps or fewer, including Dane Jackson, DJ Johnson, and K'Lavon Chaisson.

• Rookie Harrison Mevis ended up doing all the kicking, with two kickoffs and his 41-yard field goal. Dave Canales said the plan was to alternate halves with Eddy Piñeiro, who drew the first half. That meant he had the night off, since the Patriots kicked off to start the game.
• The preseason is about rolling a lot of guys in and out, but you can also tell who the trusted agents for special teams coordinator Tracy Smith are already. Linebacker Chandler Wooten played the most snaps in the kicking game, followed by Dicaprio Bootle and Jammie Robinson. Those guys are working to fill some of the gap left by the injury to safety Sam Franklin Jr.