The New England Patriots concluded their preseason Thursday night in Cleveland with a 37-13 loss to the Browns.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live-viewing the Patriots’ preseason opener.
Winners
WR Kyle Williams: Another week, another long Kyle Williams touchdown. The second-year receiver played just nine snaps over the Patriots’ first two offensive series but quickly made his mark, hauling in a 45-yard touchdown down the left sideline from Tommy DeVito. It was similar to his touchdowns from the previous two weeks, as Williams once again showcased his elite release package and vertical speed. Williams also caught a 10-yard curl on DeVito’s first pass of the night.
P Matt Haack and K Andy Borregales: The kicking game was one of the few bright spots for the Patriots on Thursday. New punter Matt Haack, who was signed on Monday following Bryce Baringer’s injury, impressed in his debut with three i20’s — the best coming on a 63-yard punt that downed itself at the two-yard line. Haack also assumed holding duties for kicker Andy Borregales, who knocked through all of his kicks (two field goals, one extra point).
LB Namdi Obiazor: In a depleted linebacker room, the sixth-round rookie played 39 snaps along the second level Thursday night. Obiazor posted a game-high 12 tackles as he was often around the football and seemed to read things well upon first watch in the run game. The rookie has assumed a top special teams role throughout training camp which likely will earn him a 53-man roster spot.
Losers
Depth cornerbacks: The Patriots’ depth cornerbacks were picked on by Dillon Gabriel and the Browns’ pass catchers throughout the night. Charles Woods and Marcellas Dial Jr. each gave up a touchdown, while Kindle Vildor and Karon Prunty allowed downfield completions (21 and 19 yards, respectively), with the veteran also flagged for defensive pass interference. Woods, who has been the fourth cornerback throughout training camp, played the duration of the third quarter. Kobee Minor then missed a tackle in the run game to directly lead to a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
The group entered Thursday night with question marks behind Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones, and the performance from the depth players did little to provide confidence ahead of cutdown day — leading the whole defense’s struggles Thursday night.
“Not good enough,” Mike Vrabel said. “We got a couple sudden change stops, forced them to kick field goals, which I think is always positive. But, just not good enough. Couldn’t match the speed of the quarterback in a zone read and some of those things. But we’ll get back to work and figure out who we’re going to get back to work with.”
Honorable mentions
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Behren Morton took a step back after last week’s positive showing. He took three sacks and threw a pair of interceptions.
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Lan Larison started Thursday’s game but dropped a third-down pass (slightly behind him). Hassan Haskins continued to run hard between the tackles behind him.
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Kyle Dixon posted a game-high eight catches (on eight targets) for 71 yards. He is a practice squad candidate.
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Caleb Lomu played nine snaps at right tackle over the Patriots first two drives. He appeared clean in his six pass blocking snaps.
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Fellow rookie tackle Dametrious Crownover continues to generate good push in the run game, as the whole line found success in the short-yardage run game.
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Gabe Jacas played 19 snaps in the finale and logged one pressure but also bit again on a zone-read play. He might have been expecting a force defender to play the quarterback, but Jacas has been on the wrong side of the play often this summer.
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The Patriots went the whole preseason without recording a kick return of 30 yards or more. Perhaps Kyle Williams assumes that role in the regular season, but the unit didn’t generate much confidence elsewhere.
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To end on a positive: No major injuries to end the preseason.
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