Let the record show the sparse Gillette Stadium crowd let out a cheer amid a light mist exactly 3 minutes and 49 seconds into Thursday night’s 17-3 snoozer of a preseason game,the 2024 opener between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers.

The quarterback they all willingly plunked down full price — dont get us started — to see had taken the field.

But they didn’t see too much. Yes, top draft pick and Hope For The Future QB Drake Maye did play one series in the first half, and his first NFL completion was a short flip to back Antonio Gibson that turned into a 13- yard gain.

And that was a wrap. A wrap that will be much-talked about over the next few days.

After that we were given a dose of zzzzz – something often done during a preseason game. But not doze. That stood for instead an overdose of Bailey Zappe, who played into the latter part of the third quarter. Seven series.

Why? Hadn’t we seen enough of him during last year’s 4-13 nightmare? Now he did look like a veteran, and did complete a 28-yard pass to Kayshon Butte to set up the lone TD of the first half. The thought may be to showcase him a bit for his next gig elsewhere. Not fun for you the fan though.

You want fun? That came with 4:13 left in the third, when the Patriots other rookie QB, Joe Milton III entered the game. He was the talk of the first week of training camp, and last night he electrified the crowd with two big scrambles plus a 38-yard TD to Rutgers undrafted rookie JaQue Jackson down the left sideline. After one such run, as a press box comment was made, “Zappe can’t do that.”

Patriots rookie QB Joe Milton III talks to the media after Thursday night’s preseason opener at Gillette Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Patriots rookie QB Joe Milton III talks to the media after Thursday night’s preseason opener at Gillette Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Mayo seemed to agree. When asked if someone exceeded his expectations, he said, “The easy answer would be Joe. I don’t ever think we’ve seen a quarterback here run around as much as he did and still get the ball down the field. He’s one of those guys. It was Joe.

Mayo said the plan all along was a small dose of Brissett, a small dose of Maye, “and then the Zappe and Joe Show.”

But the only one who put on a show was Milton.

“Lot of fun,man,” Milton said. “Lot of people where I’m from, they dream of being in this situation.”

What to make of this kid? He’s got all the tools and is confident as he had six years of college football. But remember the second half of a preseason game is 100 notches below a dress rehearsal. You can probably count on one hand the number of players on the field then who will be on a 53-man roster.

So do the Patriots take a chance and keep both he and Maye on the 53-man with Brissett the lone veteran in the QB room? If Milton is cut,surely someone will grab him before the Patriots could put him on the practice squad — unlike Zappe last year.

“The main thing I want,” Milton said, “is to make sure everybody smiles,day-in,day out.”

We did,Joe. You got us through the second half of an NFL preseason game, and for that we are all eternally grateful.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on X (formerly Twitter) @Telegraph _TomK.