The New England Patriots won their second preseason game of the year 20-12 over the Minnesota Vikings Saturday afternoon.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing.
Winners
WR Efton Chism III: After a strong two days of joint practices, Chism continued to stay red hot in New England’s second preseason game again leading all pass catchers with six receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. He continues to show his knack for getting open against man and zone while his play strength received complements from Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf after he broke through nearly the entire Vikings defense on multiple occasions.
Frequent readers know we’ve been high on Chism here since the draft process, but the undrafted receiver now looks locked on to the Patriots roster.
RB TreVeyon Henderson: Another week, another TreVeyon Henderson touchdown. Working with the top offense down near the end zone, Henderson looked dead in the water before breaking through the line of scrimmage for a score. That came shortly after the explosive back picked up 11 yards on a third-and-10 draw. The rookie is in ‘We will see you in Week 1’ territory based off his summer.
LB Anfernee Jennings: The veteran edge defender played into the fourth quarter again on Saturday, which may not project well for his chances of making New England’s roster. But, Jennings took advantage of the opportunities thrown is way as he recorded three sacks when on the field in addition to another pressure. One sack came with Jennings chasing quarterback Max Brosmer out of the pocket and making a diving play to swipe him down by the ankle.
Losers
WR: Javon Baker: It was a challenging second preseason game for sophomore wide receiver Javon Baker, who joined John Jiles and Jeremiah Webb as the only receivers to see second half action with quarterback Ben Wooldridge. While some targets appeared uncatchable in live action, Baker finished the day by bringing in just one of seven targets for 13 yards. He also had at least one drop, a false start and failed to make much of an impact on special teams as he did in the preseason opener.
SAF: Kyle Dugger: The tenured safety’s role in the Patriots defense has been under the microscope of late as Dugger has extensively run with the second unit in recent practices. On Saturday, Dugger played deep into the fourth quarter where he ultimately intercepted Minnesota’s game-tying pass attempt as time expired. While it was a positive play, Dugger questionably did not go down and almost lost the interception on the ground.
Honorable mentions:
It was a shaky start for quarterback Drake Maye with high completions to Mack Hollins and then incompletion to Pop Douglas which was close to be intercepted. Maye settled in nicely to lead a touchdown drive highlighted by a 20-yard completion on the move to Hollins.
After Mike Vrabel noted this week how Joshua Dobbs’ ball placement needed to improve, the QB missed Javon Baker on several instances while a throw to Kyle Williams led to the rookie taking a massive hit and leaving the game
JaMycal Hasty ran efficiently with 47 yards on 11 carries and had a key block on Marcus Jones’ long punt return.
Hollins ended the day with three catches for 38 yards showing continued chemistry with Maye, while practice squad receiver John Jiles had four receptions including a strong grab over the middle for 12 yards.
Will Campbell had some strong moments in the run game and seemed to hold up in pass pro. At center, Garrett Bradbury looked to struggle in both areas — although, as always, the end zone view will tell the better story of the offensive line.
Marcus Bryant drew the start at right tackle with Morgan Moses out and then repped at left tackle. Backup Vederian Lowe then gave up three pressures at right tackle before flipping to the left side.
Isaiah Iton has begun to see more prominent snaps on defense late and logged a big time run stuff early on. He unfortunately got banged up later on, which hopefully will not ruin his progression.
Alex Austin took advantage of a Sam Howell heave with an interception and had tight coverage on a fourth-down incompletion.
Credit to K’Lavon Chaisson for recording a pressure and keeping Howell in the pocket on Austin’s interception.
Carlton Davis had a third-down pass breakup in his first preseason action.
New England’s return teams conintued their strong summer as Marcus Jones had a 37-yard punt return and Jeremiah Webb added a 59-yard kick return. Their first blemish came in coverage, however, as Myles Price broke off an 81-yard return for Minnesota.
Jordan Polk had a sack and was credited by Mike Vrabel for chasing down Price on his lone return.
Shaky day from the kicking unit as Andy Borregales had a bad shank from 54 yards — which seemed liked a rushed operation — before rebounding with a make from 51 yards out. Parker Romo made his lone attempt from 28 yards but was penalized for a short kickoff.
Bryce Baringer, meanwhile, was his usual self with two i20’s and a 52.0 average.