FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — There was a lot that didn't go the Panthers' way on Sunday against the Patriots. But Dave Canales and the offense will leave New England at least knowing a lot more about their tight end unit and what this particular room can do for the team.

Coming into the game, Canales knew he was going to have to lean on the tight ends more, given the shallow receiving corps due to various injuries. And then on the first play of the game, starter David Moore went down with an elbow injury.

"I like our 12 personnel attack, but, you know, when D-Mo goes down early, then Dalevon Campbell's out and all of a sudden you're playing with three receivers, I just felt like we needed to be a little bit more 12 personnel, 13 personnel heavy to finish off the game and that's really what amounted there," Canales explained of the offense running with the different personnel groupings (12 personnel football jargon for one running back and two tight ends; 13 personnel is one back and three tight ends).

"I like our different 11 personnel packages, you know, but we had to be smart about making sure our guys were out there with the right energy."

The unit answered the bell.

On the first drive, Mitchell Evans helped convert a 16-yard completion to put the Panthers knocking on the red zone. Two plays later, Bryce Young found Tommy Tremble in the back of the end zone for the first score.

"I think there's always an expectation for us to make plays on the field, and so, today we did our best," said Tremble.

"I think you guys saw on the first drive when we're on our stuff and making the right calls and being in the right places, we can go down and score on anybody."

The offense struggled to get back into the end zone again until the end of the game, but when they did, it was once again a tight end. Tremble originally had a 6-yard catch and run that officials signaled for the score. After review, it was determined he was knocked out of bounds at the one-yard line.

The veteran was shaken up a bit on the play—he explained afterwards he was hit in the ribs and just got the air knocked out of him for a minute—so during the review, he was tended to on the sideline, and Evans took his place in the huddle. He heard the call for a rub and realized that would leave him open for the ball from Andy Dalton.

"I was like, oh shoot, so I was kind of happy to do that," admitted the rookie. It was his first touchdown in the league, and he received the proper ball honorarium to commemorate the occasion.

"The ball felt like it was in the air forever, like it was just floating, but it was awesome. I had my first touchdown catch."

Added Tremble, "My boy Mitch got in the end zone. I'm really happy for him for that. But you know, overall as a team, situations like that arise where injuries happen, and you just have to be ready."

By day's end, even with starting tight-end Ja'Tavion Sanders sidelined with an ankle injury, the unit accounted for 39 percent of the day's passing yardage. Tremble finished with the most receptions, five, for the second most yards, 42 total, just behind Tetairoa McMillan, who finished with four receptions for 62 yards. Evans brought in three passes for 23 yards, and James Mitchell added two catches for 17 yards to round out the day for the tight end group.

"I feel like you know we're asked to do a lot as a unit," said Evans. "We do everything in this offense, so I really feel like, you know, today, you know, we didn't get the result anyone wanted, but in the room I feel like we had a decent day, and just proved that we could be a unit to lean on."

With the various injuries before and during this game, there were times when all three tight ends were on the field together, either as pass-catching options, blockers, or both.

"We would love it if it's 13 personnel every time," joked Evans. "The whole, pretty much fourth-quarter it was. Just how the game went, it kind of ended up being that way, but, you know, just kind of how the game goes."

Overall, the offense finished with 326 net yards, but only scored 13 points. The tight end performance is a silver lining, but far from the whole story, and that's what Tremble is keeping in mind as he evaluates both parts of the day.

Asked what changed from the first drive to the rest, he responded assuredly, "I think just execution.

"That's the number one thing we got to do, you know, it's the NFL, you got to execute, be in the right spots, make the right reads, and do everything the right way, you know, everyone's professional out there. And we just didn't get it done today. And so I think going into this week, just preparation, over preparation is key to success."