Who was the real star of Thursday night’s New England Patriots preseason opener?

It might have not been on the field, but rather above the field.

The Gillette Stadium jumbo jumbotron scoreboard/videoboard, or just your basic large, large, large screen TV that stretches across the top of the lighthouse end of Gillette Stadium. You can basically watch the game on it rather than look down on the field if you want.

Hey, we all know preseason football, including last night’s 20-9 Houston Texans win, is as close to a waste of time as you can get without actually completely wasting time. There were plenty of empty seats at Gillette last night. The games only make real news when a top player gets hurt, which is why coaches keep the bulk of their starters out of these things, except perhaps the rookies. Patriots No. 1 pick Christian Gonzalez started at right corner and it wasn’t a great sign when he went to tackle Texans receiver Nico Collins and got knocked back about five yards out of bounds.

On the field? Was it Bailey Zappe, as we saw lots of Bailey Zappe, as the supposed No. 2 QB played into the third quarter. You know, the Zappe that starter Mac Jones, who only saw the field in warmups, supposedly doesn’t like. But Zappe throws a pretty good ball (12 of 14 for 79 yards), and if Jones stumbles out of the gate – or gets killed thanks to his porous offensive line – the Patriots may not hesitate to make a change.

Maybe receiver Tyquan Thornton, who caught two balls for 31 yards, including a nice 27 yarder from Zappe in the first half. You know, it was probably the best he’s looked as a Patriot. “It felt good,” he said. “We emphasize making good catches, so it was good to see that play. … It was a good experience, just to be out there with the whole unit.”

Keion White? The rookie defensive end out of Georgia Tech was a beast.

But we’ll to with former Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham, whom the Patriots have been using as a receiver but this week saw camp time at his old position and predictably guided the Patriots to a 14-play, 75-yard drive and scored New England’s only TD on a 9-yard run with 1:54 left. Finally, something to watch? He took off as often as possible with the ball but got clocked by Houston’s Cobi Francis with is helmet flying off. He gave the crowd something to pay attention to, and an otherwise anemic offense some fourth quarter life, for sure.

“We had a pass play called and the sea parted like the Red Sea,” he said. “I saw the goal line and knew I had to get in there. It feels good. I’m a team player, whatever the coach wants me to do I’ll do for the team. … I’m just going to whatever they need me to do at this point.

“I feel my running ability gave us a few more options.”

“He did a good job,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “Showed some poise out there, some toughness, moved the team, did a nice job.”

And he’ll probably do it for the practice squad next month, but who knows?

How tough are these preseason games? Old friend Chase Winovich, now a Texan, saw some time and got credited for half a sack. Patriot defensive back Jack Jones, who has a probable cause hearing on gun charges soon, was on the field with the scrubinis. Not a good sign for Jones.

The Patriots offense certainly lacked a lot without most if not all of the regulars. But really, who played? Never go by the preseason, or its stars.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.