4 winners (and 3 losers) from Carolina Panthers preseason loss at Patriots

Loser No. 2

Jack Plummer - Carolina Panthers QB

With Bryce Young not participating and veteran backup Andy Dalton working his way back from a quad complication, the Carolina Panthers gave Jack Plummer a chance to showcase what he could potentially bring to the roster as the team's No. 3 quarterback. Nobody was expecting miracles, but it was hard to come away with anything other than disappointment.

Plummer looked like a rabbit in the headlights more often than not behind a woeful offensive line. He struggled to go through his progressions and adjust to the NFL speed. He made a couple of encouraging throws and the player's mobility sometimes impressed. It was largely underwhelming aside from that.

The well-traveled college quarterback completed 52.38 percent of his throws for 86 passing yards, no touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Plummer was sacked five times, secured a passer rating of 62.8, and gained four yards on the ground from two carries. This was not the first impression he wanted to make in pursuit of carving out some sort of role for himself.

Just how much time Plummer gets before being moved on remains to be seen. But it doesn't look like he's up to professional standards looking at this showing.

Winner No. 3

Alex Cook - Carolina Panthers S

Alex Cook quickly made a name for himself last season. The inexperienced safety earned the trust of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and was even preferred to established veteran Jeremy Chinn when injuries began to impact the unit. He's benefitted greatly from this based on his efforts throughout the summer so far.

Cook's caught the eye consistently over Carolina's training camp. He's gone from an afterthought to a potential key member of the safety rotation along the way. The former undrafted free agent out of Washington boosted his hopes of achieving this feat thanks to a decent performance at the New England Patriots.

The defensive back was disciplined in coverage support on the backend and managed to assist close to the line of scrimmage against the run. With Sam Franklin Jr. set to miss considerable time with a broken foot, this seems like a ready-made replacement and potential upgrade behind the starting safety duo of Xavier Woods and Jordan Fuller.

This time of year is all about momentum. Cook has more of it than most and seems like a lock to make the 53-man roster currently.