Patriots offensive lineman Cole Strange (left) had his hands full in a drill against Vikings pass rusher Jonathan Harris during joint practices Thursday in Eagan, Minn.
Patriots offensive lineman Cole Strange (left) had his hands full in a drill against Vikings pass rusher Jonathan Harris during joint practices Thursday in Eagan, Minn.David Berding/Getty
EAGAN, Minn. — With eight seconds left on the clock in the two-minute drill, Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte leaped in front of two Vikings defenders to haul in a Hail Mary pass from quarterback Drake Maye.
New England’s sideline erupted in cheers, as nearly every player made his way down the sideline to meet Boutte in the end zone. The 40-yard touchdown bailed out the Patriots on a fourth-and-extremely-long, serving as a highlight-reel finish to an otherwise ugly drive.
The three plays leading up to Boutte’s catch: “sack” by Vikings defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, an easy “sack” by outside linebacker Dallas Turner against right tackle Morgan Moses, and a false start by rookie left tackle Will Campbell.
As impressive as the connection between Maye and Boutte was, the entire series seemed emblematic of a potentially growing problem for the Patriots.
New England’s offensive line struggled to contain Minnesota’s pass rush over the past two days of joint practices at TCO Stadium. Maye’s ability to make plays off-platform and escape the pocket doesn’t mean the weak pass protection can be ignored. The unit consistently ceded pressure on Wednesday and did so again on Thursday.
“I got to watch [film] and see about today, but yesterday we didn’t do as well,” right guard Michael Onwenu said after Thursday’s practice. “They gave us a lot more — not more than what we expected, but a lot of looks that we weren’t on the same page for, so we didn’t communicate as well. Today, I think we did a little bit better, but there are still some plays we have to fix.”
During one stretch of Thursday’s 11-on-11 period, the Vikings registered at least three “sacks” on just 11 dropbacks. Minnesota’s front seven frequently overpowered the Patriots.
Vikings outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard got the best of Campbell on multiple occasions. By no means was Campbell the only lineman having trouble, though. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave gave all three of New England’s interior linemen a tough challenge, too. And Turner absolutely blew by Moses in the two-minute drill.
There’s still more than three weeks before Week 1, so the Patriots have time to learn from these two joint practices. The veterans stressed the value in these reps because Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is known for disguising a wide variety of looks.
“Being able to go up against these D-ends in Minnesota and what they bring to the table and obviously the scheme that they bring, it’s good for everybody to see,” Moses said. “It’s good for the quarterback to see, good for the offensive line, the running backs. We got a lot of blitz pickups these last two days, so being able to see those things and get them on tape and see what we can do better and see how we can move forward has been great.”
Other notes and observations from the second day of joint practices with the Vikings . . .
1. The defense didn’t fare much better (perhaps even worse) than the offense, as J.J. McCarthy turned the 11-on-11 period and two-minute drill into a clinic. McCarthy repeatedly found wide receiver Jordan Addison, but the play of the day came on a perfectly placed deep ball to running back Aaron Jones, who beat out safeties Craig Woodson and Jaylinn Hawkins.
2. Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas had two uncharacteristic drops during the 11-on-11 period. He took ownership for the both plays, saying he had to reach for one and was already focused on running in the open field on the other. Said Douglas, “I already had turned my head and left the ball behind.”
3. Ben Brown took over at starting left guard. Rookie Jared Wilson, who had previously started at that position, exited practice during the one-on-one drills and did not return. Wilson had an extremely strong start to camp, unseating Cole Strange in the starting lineup, but was among the offensive linemen to occasionally struggle against the pressure on Wednesday.
4. Tight end Hunter Henry returned to practice after missing two straight days. So did cornerback D.J. James and undrafted edge rusher Elijah Ponder. Thursday’s non-participants included cornerback Christian Gonzalez, wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Ja’Lynn Polk, linebackers Marte Mapu and Jahlani Tavai, and running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
5. Safety Jabrill Peppers left practice early and did not participate in team drills. Even in his absence, Kyle Dugger remained out of the primary safety rotation with Dell Pettus instead joining Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson. Asked about potentially moving Dugger to linebacker, coach Mike Vrabel said, “We would consider anything to try to help the football team and help the player. That’s everything we want to try to do.”
6. After a clean Wednesday, the intensity started to bubble over with multiple scuffles Thursday. Nothing escalated, but Vrabel, who emerged bloody during the joint practice against Washington, got back into the mix to break up a skirmish during a punt coverage drill.
7. Even though the Vikings thoroughly outplayed the Patriots on Thursday, outside linebacker Harold Landry summed up the purpose of joint practices well. Landry previously participated in joint practices in 2023, when Vrabel was head coach of Tennessee. Said Landry, “There’s a reason why Vrabes wanted us to come up here and go against them. I feel like there’s a lot of stuff on tape that we can learn from. It’s going to do nothing but help us moving forward.”
Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com.Follow her @nicolecyang.