FOXBORO — Illegal alignments by offensive tackles will be a point of emphasis for NFL officials this season.

That was clear to anyone who watched the Patriots’ preseason finale against the Washington Commanders, and to all who tuned in to Thursday night’s regular-season kickoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens.

Ravens players were flagged five times for illegal formation, including three on the opening possession. That mirrored what happened the last time New England took the field: Chukwuma Okorafor and Mike Onwenu combined for four illegal formation penalties in the first half against Washington, including one on Okorafor that wiped out a Drake Maye touchdown pass.

Jerod Mayo has taken steps to ensure Sunday’s season opener against Cincinnati isn’t marred by pre-snap procedure errors.

“We talked about it in practice,” the Patriots head coach said Friday. “I had two guys on both sides of the line of scrimmage making sure those guys were lined up correctly. And once again, we always talk about we’ll do business as business is being done, so we’ll see what this (officiating) crew has for us this week.”

Land Clark will be the head referee for Patriots-Bengals. His crew called six illegal formation penalties across three preseason games, plus one for an illegal shift. Four of those penalties came on special teams, however, as teams adjusted to the revamped kickoff format.

Mayo said a Week 1 offensive line rotation is “under consideration” as the Patriots work through some injuries up front, so their backups will need to be dialed in on their alignments, too. It remained unclear as of Friday morning who would start at left tackle as Vederian Lowe, who missed the preseason finale, works his way back from an abdomen injury.