After a troubled week at joint practices, the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers take the fight to the field at Gillette Stadium on Friday night for Week 2 preseason action.
But really, let’s cross our fingers and hope that the fighting part is only metaphorically this time around.
Fists were flying on back-to-back days of training camp practices between the two teams on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Things escalated to the point where Patriots receiver Kristian Wilkerson was knocked out with a concussion, Panthers defensive back Kenny Robinson was ejected twice and Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. was driven into the stands onto a fan by a Panthers player in retaliation for a hard hit on star running back Christian McCaffrey.
Tensions will likely be running high on game day, and what was initially perceived as a meaningless preseason matchup will probably have somewhat of a playoff feel to it. You can rest assured neither one of these teams are wanting to lose this game.
Here’s how to watch.