FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Draw no conclusions from this one.

The Panthers dropped a 17-3 decision to the Patriots Thursday at Gillette Stadium on a night when very few regulars actually played.

Only three players listed on the unofficial depth chart as starters were actually dressed for the game — wide receiver Jonathan Mingo, outside linebacker DJ Johnson, and cornerback Dane Jackson.

And with such a mixed bag of personnel, the results were somewhat predictable.

With undrafted rookie quarterback Jack Plummer starting, the "first" offense against the Patriots managed 70 yards of total offense, three first downs, and just one third-down conversion in the first half.

There weren't a lot of regulars on the field, but a couple of guys who could be didn't distinguish themselves early.

Plummer put a couple of balls on target, but they were dropped by Terrace Marshall Jr. and Mingo. Granted, they were out there in a driving rain, but there were plays to be made. It was that way throughout the first half, when what amounts to the second team was playing. Plummer played into the fourth quarter before yielding to Jake Luton, who signed Monday morning. He at least got them into position for a 41-yard Harrison Mevis field goal inside the two-minute warning.

On the other side of the ball, a few guys did give good accountings of themselves.

Cornerback Lamar Jackson was particularly active, with two pass breakups and three tackles in the first half.

Veteran defensive lineman T.J. Smith had a sack as he builds on a solid first two weeks of camp, and Eku Leota had a quarterback hit and a couple of tackles for loss as well.

Leota has produced when he's been on the field (going back to some cameos last year), and stands out as an effort player on special teams as well.

In the third quarter, Derrick McLendon had a 15-yard sack when Johnson pushed his guy into quarterback Bailey Zappe's lap, and McLendon cleaned it up.

But there weren't really any highlights to speak of on the other side of the ball, other than perhaps a 28-yard pass to Jordan Matthews in the first half.

— The Panthers were going with the bare minimum in terms of offensive linemen, with just seven blockers active for the preseason opener.

There are usually eight active for regular games.

The Panthers started left tackle Ricky Lee, left guard Brady Christensen, center Cade Mays, right guard Chandler Zavala, and right tackle Badara Traore.

That left tackle Jeremiah Crawford and center Andrew Raym in reserve.

It created a big workload for those guys in the first game, especially after Traore left in the second quarter with a knee injury.

Raym came in the game at center when that happened. They then brought Crawford in to play right tackle in the second half.

— Rookie head coach Dave Canales got his first win, in a sense.

He was successful in his first successful challenge, overturning a Patriots completed pass and forcing them to punt.

It's the little things.

— Rookie defensive end Jaden Crumedy was carted to the locker room in the second quarter with an ankle injury. He was announced as questionable to return, but did not.

On a night with little depth, it didn't help.