LANDOVER, Md. — The Washington Commanders and New England Patriots came together to close out the NFL preseason for themselves and the league as the final game before the regular season gets underway in earnest.

Of course, we knew in advance that starters like Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels would not play. Before the game, we received a more extensive list from the team itself.

Washington announced prior to the game that the following players would not appear in the team’s final practice game:

READ MORE:Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Reveals Thoughts On ‘Earning’ A Starting Job

Quarterbacks Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota and Sam Hartman

Wide Receivers Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, Terry McLaurin and Jamison Crowder

Cornerbacks Mike Sainristil, Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Michael Davis and Benjamin St-Juste

Linebackers Frankie Luvu, Dante Fowler Jr., Bobby Wagner and Jordan Magee

Running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler

Safeties Jeremy Chinn, Quan Martin and Percy Butler

Center Tyler Biadasz

Guard Nick Allegretti and Sam Cosmi

Offensive tackles Andrew Wylie, Trent Scott, Brandon Coleman and Cornelius Lucas

Tight Ends Ben Sinnott, Zach Ertz and John Bates

Defensive Ends Dorance Armstrong and Clelin Ferrell

Defensive tackles Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Jer’Zhan Newton

Those 35 players are expected to be on the active roster by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, but that still left some spots open for one final competition.

Among those vying for what could be the final roster spot are defensive ends KJ Henry and Javontae Jean-Baptiste, both of whom were pressured early in the first half. Henry converted his pressure into a sack that appeared to have knocked Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett out of the game.

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye, who finished second, led a touchdown drive that gave New England an early 7-0 lead, but also involved two fumbles.

Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene was covering the play and had a chance to tackle running back Kevin Harris, but he had no chance after diving to his feet. The ball carrier held on to the ball until the end of the play and set up the game’s opening score.

The score stayed there and wasn’t threatened with a change until midway through the second quarter, when Commanders quarterback Jeff Driskel threw a pass intended for receiver Mitchell Tinsley at the Washington 45-yard line that was intercepted by Patriots linebacker Joe Giles-Harris. An illegal blindside block on the return, however, returned the ball to the New England 44-yard line, and a holding penalty two plays later moved it back even further.

That drive ended in a run, leaving the score intact with Washington trailing by one. It wasn’t all good news for the defensive unit, however, as safety Jeremy Reaves had a chance to make an interception of his own but was ultimately unable to clear the ball — something defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. surely wasn’t happy about.

The ensuing Commanders drive was their best of the half, taking them to the New England 42 yard line at the two minute warning. Unfortunately, the drive stalled, and once again the Commanders punted the ball away.

When we went into halftime with a 7-0 lead, it wasn’t for lack of trying. With two seconds left in the half, the Patriots trotted out former Washington kicker Joey Slye for a 64-yard attempt that fell just short of flying wide left.

It was a relatively dull first half, and worse, new Washington kicker Cade York never got a chance to show that he’s the right man for the job. So we head into the second half hoping for a bit more action, and maybe a chance to get a look at some defining moments for guys fighting to stay on the roster Tuesday afternoon.

READ MORE: ‘He’ll Slide’: Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Protecting Body Critical to Success

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