Football was in the air last night at Gillette Stadium, as the Patriots and Colts ended their first preseason contest knotted up. In true preseason fashion, the game ended in a 13-13 tie. It was the first Patriots preseason tie since 1973, a game in which the team tied the Oakland Raiders 17-all.
K.J. Britt emerges:
Linebacker K.J. Britt, who has been buried on the Patriots depth chart for the entirety of the summer, started for the team in Thursday’s preseason opener. For the majority of the summer, the two backup linebackers had been Chad Muma and undrafted rookie Khalil Jacobs, so seeing Britt on the field next to Muma came as a bit of a surprise.
Britt signed a one-year contract with New England, after playing for the Dolphins last season. In only 149 snaps for Miami, Britt collected 35 total tackles and one quarterback hit. His physicality and willingness to play the run stood out on film.
Although Britt’s numbers are not going to award him with any Pro Bowl votes, he is certainly the most proven backup linebacker the Patriots have on their roster, which made his position on the depth chart all the more puzzling.
It seems as if the sixth-year backer had nothing to worry about, and the team was merely trying to get looks at their young and unproven depth. Britt was the first linebacker to exit the game, which in a preseason game is a good thing.
Not only did Britt run as the third linebacker, but he looked like the third-best linebacker on the team. Britt ended the game with 3 total tackles, one of which being a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble on Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Special teams highs and lows:
Bryce Baringer and Andy Borregales, the team’s punter and kicker, had two polar opposite nights. Baringer, trying to prove he is not the up-and-down player he was a year ago, had a fantastic day punting the football. On the other hand, second-year kicker Andy Borregales produced an uninspiring performance.
Last season, shanking the football was a common sight for Baringer. He had his good moments, but the bad moments were consistently there. The fourth-year punter acknowledged his lack of consistency earlier this summer.
“For me, I want to be more consistent, one,” Baringer told reporters on August 5. “Number two, a big emphasis was hang time and distance, kind of having that relationship. But just knowing what I'm capable of doing and trusting my process.”
Baringer’s offseason work has paid off to this point, as the Michigan State alumnus had multiple hang times that exceeded the five-second mark and pinned the Colts inside their ten-yard line multiple times.
Out of the six punts Baringer had, I charted two elite, three good, and one average punt. The two I had down as elite consisted of a punt from the Colts 45-yard line that took a Patriot bounce and was downed inside the ten and a 65-yard rocket that had a hang time of 5.46 seconds.
Borregales, contrasty, did not have a good night. The former University of Miami kicker went 2-for-5 on field goal attempts. Borregales has had a great summer up to this point, and while there are no definitive kicker stats in training camp, he had only missed around four kicks on more than 30 attempts.
The strong practice performance did not carry over to the preseason. Borregales hit from 40 and 52 yards out, but his other three attempts were the headline from his less than ideal day.
His first missed kick came from 56, which hooked wide left. His next was a knuckleball that missed the kicking net by 10 yards, this one coming from 55 yards out. Finally, Borregales lined up for a potential game winner, and with 13 seconds to go, Borregales hooked another kick wide left.
Head coach Mike Vrabel, who gave Borregales the game ball despite having a rough game in Miami to keep his confidence high last year, did not hold back on the second-year kicker.
“Three [field goals missed], Vrabel said while shaking his head. “I don’t have a message, I mean we’re expected to make them, that’s pro football. They’re banging ‘em in from 60 yards. They got two kickers on the roster, so Andy knows we have to make those field goals.”
I wouldn’t go into panic mode just yet, as we saw something similar with the kicker last year. He could just be a slow starter, which would not be ideal, but also something that isn’t the end of the world.
New leader for RB3:
As the Patriots starting offense took the field, rookie running back Jam Miller trotted out with them. Miller has had a solid summer, but looked to have an uphill battle for the team’s third running back spot. Thursday, it appeared the spot was his to lose.
This is partially due to third-year running back Terrell Jennings landing on season-ending injured reserve with an unknown injury. Jennings was the front runner for the third running back spot and losing him for the season is a major blow to the room.
With Jennings out, someone had to step up, and Miller was that player. The rookie had 14 carries for 55 yards, with his longest run of the night being a 15-yard scamper down the left sideline. The rookie tight ends, Tanner Arkin and Eli Raridon, led the way.
Second-year back Lan Larison also appeared on the team’s first drive, but unlike Miller, who came out of the game early in the third quarter, Larison played deep into the second half. Larison was clearly the team’s fourth running back, but the team used him in a different role than Miller.
Larison has much better receiving upside than Miller, which is why the team used him as their third-down runner throughout the night. With the two being such vastly different styles of running backs, I don’t think the competition is between the two anymore.
I believe Larison will compete against JaMycal Hasty, a quick third-down receiving threat, for the backup scat back role. Miller will battle it out with Hassan Haskins for the “power back” role.
Larison and Miller looked like the top two runners in their respective roles.
Kyle Williams’ eventful evening:
Second-year pass catcher Kyle Williams started his preseason off with a bang, catching the team’s first and only touchdown of the game.
Williams has primarily taken snaps with the second team during team periods this summer, but in those reps, he has shined. That carried over to the preseason, where Williams showed off his release package multiple times, one of which was on his touchdown.
It wasn’t all good for Williams; head coach Mike Vrabel called out the receiver for not drawing a pass interference call on a go route down the sideline.
Williams got open down the left sideline, but Tommy DeVito underthrew the football. Colts cornerback Jonathan Edwards never turned to look for the football and instead of making an effort for the football, which would have resulted in Edwards interfering, Williams kept running.
The third-round pick finished the day with two catches for 37 yards. Not the most impressive day in terms of sheer volume, but an encouraging night nonetheless.
The leftovers:
The Patriots forced an impressive four turnovers in yesterday’s contest. Kindle Vildor and John Saunders Jr. were on the receiving end of interceptions, while K.J. Britt and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. knocked the ball loose for Colts fumbles.
Second-year edge rusher Bradyn Swinson flashed. The fifth-round pick had three tackles and batted down a Riley Leonard pass for a fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter. For a player who did not flash at all last year, it is very encouraging to see this kind of performance.
Ben Brown, the Patriots top backup interior super sub, went down with an apparent lower leg injury. Brown got rolled up on after the play was over and walked off the field with trainers.
Back up quarterback Tommy DeVito had an up-and-down day throwing the football. DeVito finished 13 of 22 for 138 yards and a lone touchdown to Kyle Williams. DeVito missed two throws to Mack Hollins on dig routes, but the duo later responded with an 18-yard completion.
The Patriots will return to practice, Saturday, August 15, with practice not open to the public. Season ticket members will be allowed in.