FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In the Washington Commanders’ public unveiling, their first opponent shifted instantly from the New England Patriots to a belief in omens. The outcome may not have mattered Friday night, but who would welcome a start like this? The opening kickoff settled into Patriots rookie TreVeyon Henderson’s hands, and he raced 100 yards past 11 lunging Commanders for a touchdown.

The Commanders sat 30 players, 23 of whom were healthy enough to play. Essentially, they holstered half their expected Week 1 roster. As Coach Dan Quinn had telegraphed earlier in the week, almost no non-rookie starters or starting candidates dressed. Anybody hoping to see Jayden Daniels back in a Commanders uniform or Deebo Samuel, Laremy Tunsil and Von Miller make their Washington debuts will have to wait at least a week.

Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel — who still had a small blemish under his left eye from breaking up a scuffle in Wednesday’s joint practice — played his starters. The varying approaches placed the Commanders at a glaring disadvantage. The Patriots dominated Washington early, especially when running the ball, and scored the first 20 points of a sloppy, penalty-laden 48-18 Commanders loss.

“I told the team there’s some really hard lessons tonight,” Quinn said. “We have really high standards, and we missed them tonight. We missed them by a lot. All three phases. What I’m looking for over the next 10 days is really good improvement.”

A preseason opener, especially one in which all the starters sit, is no time for sweeping evaluations. But Quinn will evaluate what he saw, and he won’t be happy when he flicks on the tape. Quinn loathes penalties, and the Commanders committed 13. He emphasizes special teams excellence, and the Commanders yielded two kick returns of at least 62 yards and drew a barrage of flags.

“It stung for us tonight,” Quinn said. “We have really, really high standards in that. That’s one of the phases we really emphasize. [Special teams coach] Larry [Izzo] is right out in front of that. It’s impressive. To have a performance where it didn’t go our way, it can be confusing, surprising, all those emotions. None of us would have saw that coming.”

Repeat it as many times as necessary: It’s only the preseason. Quinn, though, would not use absences as an excuse or take solace in the irrelevance of the outcome to the standings. His football team played sloppy, and he believes it must be addressed.

“We have really high standards about how we want to do things and how we get down,” Quinn said. “And when you miss them, man, you talk it, you drill it, you discuss it. We’re going to watch it all, every bit of it. It all counts.

“If you get your ass kicked and we’re in the fight the whole time, I can live with that. When you didn’t play to the style and attitude, penalties – when it’s sloppy and not to the standards, that burns my ass.”

The overall ugliness aside, here’s what mattered from Friday night:

The Commanders’ night included few bright spots, but two of their most important players on the field delivered. First-round pick Josh Conerly Jr. started at right tackle and built on his steady improvement in his transition from left tackle — the only position he played at Oregon. Conerly received from help from chip blocks at times, but he didn’t allow any pressures and created consistent push on run blocks.

Conerly is competing with Andrew Wylie to start at right tackle. (Wylie started at left guard Friday night with Brandon Coleman out with a minor injury, but Coleman is not expected to miss significant time.) At only 21 and playing a new position, it would take a lot for Conerly to claim the spot by Week 1. He took a significant step Friday night.

“The [joint] practice one, I felt it — his quickness off the ball,” Quinn said. “The protection to his side felt strong. It just felt clean for him.”

Cornerback Trey Amos, Washington’s second-round pick, continued his excellent preseason. When Maye tested him on a deep ball into the end zone, Amos ran stride-for-stride with wideout Mack Hollins and forced an incompletion.

Amos’s coverage skills have shined all training camp. The game setting promised to examine his tackling against the run. One red zone play, Amos rushed from the secondary and dropped Rhamondre Stevenson for no gain. Amos’s poise and maturity have stood out. Whether or not Amos starts at the second cornerback spot, he’s on track to be a major contributor.

Sam Hartman, the second-year quarterback aiming to secure a roster spot behind Daniels and Marcus Mariota, submitted an inconsistent performance, salvaging a shaky start with a strong final drive.

Hartman started over 39-year-old veteran Josh Johnson, the only other quarterback who dressed with Daniels sitting out and Mariota nursing a minor lower leg injury. Hartman completed 9 of 19 passes for 64 yards — 3.4 yards per attempt — with no touchdowns and an interception, on which he was partially victimized by wideout Michael Gallup slipping as he cut outside.

Hartman seemed indecisive on some reads, chopping his feet before throwing several quick passes. He was often imprecise — his first throw, a swing pass, skipped into K.J. Osborn’s feet. Rookie wide receiver Jaylin Lane came wide open on a short out pattern from the slot, and Hartman sailed the pass.

Hartman found rhythm on his final drive, after the Commanders shifted to no-huddle. He zipped three consecutive completions, two to Tay Martin and another to Ben Sinnott. He layered a pass over a linebacker and in front of a defensive back to Gallup for a 26-yard gain. Hartman lofted a perfect pass into the corner of the end zone that landed in Osborn’s hands, but Osborn couldn’t squeeze it against tight coverage.

Playing the final drive of the first half and the entire second, Johnson had an easier task against Patriots backups. But he was exceedingly sharp, completing 15 of 22 passes for 173 yards — including five to undrafted rookie Ja’Corey Brooks for 59 yards — while leading two touchdown drives.

“It’s kind of hard to evaluate right now,” Johnson said. “I’m looking at it from a team perspective. … We did some good things, but good in this league is only going to get you so far. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”

During Terry McLaurin’s contractual standoff, Commanders wide receivers have yet to take advantage of extra playing time. In a replay of Wednesday’s joint practice, Commanders wideouts rarely broke free from coverage. Chris Moore dropped the first pass Hartman threw him. Luke McCaffrey caught one pass and was immediately tackled for a one-yard loss, but he was playing through an illness and had to leave in the first half.

McLaurin and Samuel would, of course, make a massive difference. And Noah Brown has barely practiced with a nagging injury. But those three were the only Commanders wideouts who didn’t play Friday night. The Commanders need a third or fourth wideout, and one has yet to step forward.

“We’re still digging in to go and find out who can emerge, what it looks like, what the roles are,” Quinn said. “I’ve seen some good things from Jaylin [Lane]. Chris Moore in the practice parts I’ve seen some. We’ve still got work to do to figure that part out. Although sometimes you go to go through the evaluation piece and learn, there is silver lining. It’s hard when you’re going through it, but I do enjoy those moments to find out, I’ll be honest with you. Even when it’s uncomfortable.”

Jacory Croskey-Merritt has been a sensation in training camp, the player most likely to make his veteran teammates look at one another in bug-eyed recognition. Croskey-Merritt had not played a game since Arizona’s season opener last year, after which the NCAA suspended him over eligibility questions.

“I was just pleased being able to be on the field,” Croskey-Merritt said. “I’m thankful for that. I’m grateful.”

In his first NFL game, Croskey-Merritt displayed wicked cuts and elusiveness. He gained 24 yards on seven rushes. On one third-and-one carry, Croskey-Merritt found no space but still left linebacker Anfernee Jennings falling to his chest as he grasped for him and burst for the first down. His best play was wiped out by a penalty — he ran away from a linebacker, caught a short pass and juked past a safety for a big gain.

Despite showing skill that drew compliments from Quinn, Croskey-Merritt felt like he didn’t do his best. “Not at all,” he said. He felt he lacked patience to let plays develop and holes open, allowing the speed of his first NFL game to affect him. “A lot of stuff I know I need to work on,” Croskey-Merritt said. “I think I’m going to always be hard on myself.”

Croskey-Merritt caught another pass for an eight-yard gain and absorbed a hit. Someone landed hard on his shoulder, and he left the game and walked into the blue medical tent. He emerged a couple of minutes later and stayed on the sideline with helmet in hand but did not return to the field. Croskey-Merritt said tests on his shoulder came back clean and he would be fine.

Aside from McCaffrey and Croskey-Merritt, the Commanders also lost defensive tackle Viliami Fehoko Jr. to an injury. Fehoko had to be helped off the field in the third quarter.

Defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton’s rookie season never got on track after he dealt with foot injuries. The Commanders expect a leap in his second season, and they’re counting on Newton, a second-round pick last year, to provide interior pass rush.

One sequence in the first quarter showed the extent of Newton’s potential. On first down, he recognized a screen pass, bolted to his right and halted Henderson. Even though he squirted out of his tackle, Newton caused the one-yard loss.

Two plays later, Newton swooped around the right end on a stunt, decked quarterback Drake Maye and forced a fumble. Defensive end Jacob Martin scooped the ball for the Commanders’ lone forced turnover.

The Commanders signed kicker Matt Gay to a one-year, $4.3 million free agent contract this offseason in hopes he would eliminate the kicking drama from last year. They brought no other kickers to training camp as a show of confidence. He started training camp by drilling almost every kick, but his struggles over the past week may be testing their faith.

After Gay missed two kicks in game settings at Wednesday’s joint practice, he hooked a 49-yard field goal wide left on his first attempt Friday night. On his second try, Gay blasted a 37-yarder through the middle. At the end of the first half, Quinn bypassed a 59-yard field goal try and punted.

About 90 minutes before kickoff, on a concourse outside the stadium, the Patriots unveiled a 17-foot-tall bronze statue of Tom Brady. Commanders General Manager Adam Peters, a Patriots scout during Brady’s tenure, sat in the front row of the ceremony alongside owner Josh Harris and limited partner Mitchell Rales. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, special teams coordinator Larry Izzo and personnel analyst Wes Welker, who all played with Brady, attended as well.