FOXBORO, Mass. – The stands were packed, and the Jaguars worked against the champs.
That was the scene Monday as the Jaguars and defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots held the first of two joint practices.
The Jaguars and Patriots worked for nearly two and a half hours on the Patriots' practice fields outside Gillette Stadium on what began and ended as a cool morning in 72-degree temperatures.
An estimated 20,000 fans attended.
The teams will practice again at Tuesday morning, then will play in the 2017 preseason opener at Gillette Thursday night.
The teams worked extensively in 11-on-11, starters-versus-starters situations Monday and Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone said he liked what he saw for the most part from quarterback Blake Bortles and the Jaguars' offense.
We'll have comments from Marrone and several Jaguars players later on jaguars.com.
The Patriots' offense was efficient, particularly quarterback Tom Brady, and Brady threw three touchdown passes in the red-zone area. The teams also worked a live goal-line situation, with the Patriots scoring twice in that situation and the Jaguars not scoring in that situation.
Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, cornerback A.J. Bouye and wide receiver Marqise Lee both stood out for the Jaguars.
A look at Training Camp Day 10:
STANDING OUT
*Lee stood out among Jaguars players, looking fast and athletic in early work Monday. He caught several intermediate passes from Bortles and also had a long kickoff return early in practice. He has stood out early in camp and continued to do so Monday. …
*Brady as expected stood out. Watching up close, it's easy to see why Brady is one of the all-time greats. His arm strength, quick delivery and deep accuracy showed up big in 11-on-11 work midway through practice as he found wide receiver Brandin Cooks for a 50-yard gain that set up a short touchdown pass from Brady to wide receiver Chris Hogan. Brady threw two more touchdown passes to Cooks later in 11-on-11 work. …
*Ngakoue got consistent pressure on Patriots quarterbacks, twice breaking through for apparent sacks on Brady early in practice.
*Bortles had a solid day for the most part. He completed some intermediate passes for solid gains, including one to wide receiver Allen Robinson early, one to tight end Marcedes Lewis and multiple passes to Lee. He was intercepted once – by cornerback Malcolm Butler.
*Jaguars cornerback Doran Grant intercepted Brady in 11-on-11 work, and Jaguars cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste intercepted Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett in 11-on-11 work later in practice. …
PLAY OF THE DAY
This came not unexpectedly from Brady when he found Cooks down the middle of the field. After an earlier deep pass was dropped, Brady on this play hit Cooks with a perfect, high-arching pass around the Jaguars' five-yard line. Brady passed to Hogan on the next play for a touchdown.
INJURY WATCH
Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell remained out of practice with an undisclosed injury, as did guard Earl Watford, linebacker Justin Horton and tight end Mychael Rivera.
Cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Colvin and rookie fullback remained on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Both have been on PUP and out of practice since the beginning of camp.
NOTABLE
*The Jaguars' first-team offensive line through much of practice Monday: left tackle Cam Robinson, left guard Patrick Omameh, center Brandon Linder, right guard A.J. Cann and right tackle Jeremy Parnell. Left tackle Josh Wells also worked with the first team, rotating at the spot with Robinson. …
*The Jaguars continued to rotate the cornerback position opposite Bouye extensively because of the absence of Ramsey and Colvin. Brian Dixon worked with the first team at the position Monday and Tyler Patmon worked at the nickel. Patmon, Josh Johnson and Doran Grant also have been working with the ones at the spot. …
