FOXBOROUGH — Listed as questionable with an ankle injury heading into Sunday’s season opener, Will Campbell made his NFL debut against the Las Vegas Raiders.
It was a smooth first half and a bumpy second for the No. 4 overall pick.
After flying under the radar early, Campbell was whistled for a pair of false starts — including a very costly one — and the defender he was blocking sacked Drake Maye twice. Ultimately, the Patriots fell 20-13 to open the season.
Here’s everything Campbell said at his locker after the loss:
On making his NFL debut
“It was cool but we didn’t win so it really doesn’t matter.”
On what happened on his two false starts
“I’ve just gotta be better. I can’t jump. I’ve gotta key into the snap count. I take full responsibility. I’ve gotta fix it.”
On how different it is to see live action in the NFL
“It was good. We’ve just gotta be better. It doesn’t really matter how I enjoyed my individual experience. We didn’t really win so none of it really matters.”
On what happened on the fourth quarter strip sack
“I’ve just gotta block him. It’s nobody else other than me. I’ve gotta get better. We’ll watch the tape, learn from it, and fix it.”
On how he processes losses
“I think you just look over what we could have done better. A standpoint from up front, what I could have done better and what we could have done better collectively as an offense — because our defense played their (expletive) off and we’ve just gotta help them out. So that’s what we’re going to do. We’ve gotta get in the film room and just find ways to get better."
On whether the Patriots hoped to run the football better
“I think it’s a part of our plan to run the football, but yeah, we’ve just gotta run the ball better.”
On whether this debut met his expectations
“It’s the NFL. You expect a good team. We played a good team. Whenever we don’t play up to our standard, it doesn’t go our way and that’s exactly what happened. We’ve just gotta play better on offense and up front.”
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