11 Patriots takeaways from preseason matchup vs. Vikings

We’re getting closer to the regular season.

On Saturday afternoon, the Patriots took on the Minnesota Vikings in their second preseason matchup. This came after the team spent the week up north with two joint practice sessions against a talented Vikings team.

The two practices showed us why the Vikings were a team that won 14 games last season. It also showed that the Patriots have some room for improvement if they want to reach that level.

On Saturday, the Vikings rested their starters. That included quarterback J.J. McCarthy and receivers Jordan Addison, Justin Jefferson (who is recovering from an injury), and their talented defensive line.

For Mike Vrabel’s team, this matchup was another step in the team-building process. With a new offensive system for Drake Maye and a completely new defensive system, the Patriots played their starters for two drives on Saturday.

There were some nice moments from both units in Minnesota. Here are the top takeaways from the Patriots 20-12 win over the Vikings:

Maye’s day

Drake Maye’s first drive started well. The quarterback hit Mack Hollins for a gain of 12 yards to kick off this contest. Two plays later, the Patriots had another first down thanks to Antonio Gibson.

That’s where the forward progress ended.

Maye’s second pass attempt was nearly intercepted when he missed a wide-open DeMario Douglas on first down. Then, the starting offense was flagged for a delay of game penalty. On third down, Maye threw a nice pass to TreVeyon Henderson on a wheel route, but the pass was broken up by Vikings linebacker Kobe King.

Maye was better in the second drive. The quarterback hit Hollins for back-to-back plays of 6-and-20 yards. The big pass play happened on third-and-3 as Maye rolled out to his right and found a wide-open Hollins.

Maye’s day was over after that. He finished 4-of-7 with 46 yards in the team’s second preseason game.

TreVeyon excels, again

TreVeyon Henderson has quickly turned into one of the best offensive weapons for the Patriots.

That was seen in the Patriots second series. Despite getting stopped for little to no gain on his first two carries, the rookie running back went on to hurt the Vikings. On third-and-10, Henderson took a handoff and sprinted 11 yards up the middle for a first down.

Then on third-and-4, Henderson ran through a group of Vikings defensive players for an 8-yard touchdown at 4:32 of the first quarter. It was an impressive run as it looked like the rookie had nowhere to go, but received great blocks from left tackle Will Campbell and left guard Ben Brown, and then shot into the end zone.

Efton Chism III continues to impress

Efton Chism III looked like a player who’s earned a roster spot.

After an impressive preseason debut, the undrafted rookie receiver impressed again on Saturday. Chism caught six passes on six targets for 71 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter.

Most of the production came on the final drive of the half. The slot receiver moved the chains twice in two plays – catching an 11-yard gain on third-and-11 and then hauling in a 33-yard pass play from Dobbs. In the same drive, he then caught a 7-yard pass on third-and-5, where he bowled over multiple defensive players to pick up the first down.

Chism wasn’t done. On third-and-9, the rookie hauled in a pass around the 10-yard line. From there, he made five Vikings defensive players miss en route to scoring a 12-yard touchdown at 1:01 of the second quarter.

No Diggs

Stefon Diggs warmed up on the field in Minnesota on Saturday, but the veteran wide receiver didn’t play in the game.

During Saturday’s halftime, Eliot Wolf was interviewed on WBZ. The Patriots executive vice president of player personnel was asked about Diggs’ health.

“I would say he’s probably done more than I would have expected to this point,” Wolf said. “He’s been a tremendous worker. He’s been out there practicing every time that we’ve asked him to. That’s all part of (Patriots trainer) Jim Whalen’s plan for him working forward.”

Working his way back from a torn ACL, Diggs has been a participant in all of training camp for the Patriots. The Pro Bowl receiver has said it’s his goal to play in Week 1.

“He’s been out here almost every day,” Vrabel said Thursday. “I’m excited of where he’s at and we’ll see when Week 1 comes.”

… Other players who didn’t participate on Saturday include Jabrill Peppers, Morgan Moses, D.J. James, Christian Gonzalez, Rhamondre Stevenson, Ja’Lynn Polk, Marte Mapu, Jahlani Tavai, Kendrick Bourne, and Terrell Jennings.

Defense picks it up

After the Patriots first touchdown, the defense got into the fun.

On the Vikings second drive, Sam Howell was intercepted by Patriots cornerback Alex Austin at 4:20 of the first quarter. Defensive tackle Milton Williams pressured Howell while K’Lavon Chaisson kept the quarterback in the pocket before the pick.

That set up the backup offense at the 35-yard line. Despite getting to the 2-yard line, the Patriots didn’t punch it in as Joshua Dobbs missed a wide-open Javon Baker on fourth down with 26 seconds left in the first quarter.

Davis debuts

Carlton Davis made his preseason debut on Saturday.

The veteran cornerback missed most of the beginning of training camp as he worked his way back from an unknown injury. Davis made an instant impact for the defense. During the first Vikings drive, the cornerback deflected a pass on third-and-2 intended for Lucky Jackson.

Offensive line

The Patriots started a different offensive line combination on Saturday, as it looks like a rookie was demoted.

The team started Ben Brown at left guard in place of rookie Jared Wilson. Wilson didn’t participate in most drills in Thursday’s practice and left that session early. He worked out on the field before the game, but Brown started.

When the starters were done, however, Wilson was back at left guard with the backup offensive line.

The Patriots also started seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant in place of veteran right tackle Morgan Moses, who’s been on a pitch count this summer to get him ready for the season.

The Patriots started Will Campbell (left tackle), Brown (left guard), Garrett Bradbury (center), Michael Onwenu (right guard), and Bryant (right tackle).

The starting unit allowed one quarterback hit and no sacks in two drives with Maye. The quarterback hit was the result of Maye rolling out to his left and extending the play – not the fault of pass protection.

Veterans in second half

It felt noteworthy that the Patriots played veterans Anfernee Jennings and Kyle Dugger in the second half with second- and third-string players.

Last week, against Washington, Jennings played the entire second half. On Saturday, he showed the Patriots coaches why he started for the previous regime. In the third quarter, Jennings had 1.5 sacks in two plays.

The first, at 5:41, Jennings sacked Max Brosmer for a loss of 14 yards. Then on third-and-29, Jennings had a split sack with Elijah Ponder.

Jennings notched another sack at 12:08 of the fourth quarter to finish with 2.5 on the day.

If that type of performance doesn’t move Jennings up the depth chart, it could increase his value for a potential trade.

At safety, with Peppers out, the Patriots started Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson. Dugger has been predominantly with the backups over the last two weeks of camp. On Saturday, he made five tackles and played the entire second half.

Dugger was on the field for the final play and intercepted Max Brosmer in the end zone as the clock hit zero.

Kicker battle

Last week, Parker Romo hit a 57-yard field goal in the Patriots preseason game against the Washington Commanders. On Saturday, Andy Borregales failed to follow in his lead.

The rookie kicker missed a 57-yard attempt at 10:50 of the second quarter. The kick wasn’t close as Borregales hooked it very wide left. Later, nin the fourth quarter, the rookie hit a 51-yard field goal. He also hit two extra points.

Meanwhile, Romo hit a 28-yard field goal at 14:11 of the fourth quarter.

Drafted in the sixth round, Borregales was viewed as the favorite in this kicker competition. However, Romo has been the more consistent kicker in training camp.

In practice, Borregales has hit 84.1% (37-of-44) of his attempts while Romo has hit 89.2% (33-of-37) of his training camp attempts.

Returners on fire

There were no returns for touchdowns this time, but the Patriots special teams unit continues to impress this preseason.

On Saturday, Marcus Jones returned the first punt of the game 37 yards for the Patriots. Then in the second quarter, right before the half, Jeremiah Webb received the kickoff on the goal line and ran back 60 yards. It appeared that the undrafted rookie might break free, but was caught at the last minute.

In the first preseason game, Henderson ran back for a 100-yard return, and then Gibson ran one back for 62 yards.

Injury notes

It appeared as though Kyle Williams suffered a head injury on Saturday.

Williams was hit hard at 5:39 of the second quarter when he caught a 6-yard pass on third-and-4. It appeared as though Austin Keys made contact with Williams’ face mask on the tackle.

The rookie receiver was taken into the blue medical tent soon after and didn’t return. Williams had three catches for 24 yards on Saturday.

Defensive tackle Isaiah Iton also left the field in the second half. Iton had an impressive run stop in the second quarter.