Pats Pulpit
There was one game left in August for head coach Mike Vrabel’s 91-man roster.
The New England Patriots turned it into a 42-10 loss to the New York Giants on Thursday night.
Here’s a glance back on the preseason finale at MetLife Stadium as the NFL’s cutdown deadline looms back in Foxborough.
Drake Maye threw for 58 yards through two preseason starts. There would not be another for the quarterback. It would be an undrafted rookie under center for the Patriots instead.
Ben Wooldridge completed 10-of-20 passes for 82 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The 25-year-old by way of Fresno State and Louisiana began with a three-and-out on a shallow crosser under pressure. Three batted passes were endured at the line of scrimmage during his night. But some semblance of a rhythm was found on a 14-play, 80-yard scoring drive going into the half.
Even so, the score soon read 35-10. That was the case as Wooldridge threw behind tight end Jaheim Bell in the seam in the third quarter. Giants cornerback T.J. Moore, who was later carted off, made the most of it with a pick-six from 44 yards away. On a quarterback depth chart likely to include Joshua Dobbs as the lone backup, there is a candidate to continue working with on the practice squad.
The hay has been in the barn for Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson and No. 38 overall pick TreVeyon Henderson, who found the end zone as a returner and a rusher in his first NFL preseason. But if there was a last chance to create a fourth job at running back, it was in East Rutherford.
The night went quietly there.
Veteran JaMycal Hasty started and stayed in to rush for 30 yards on 11 carries while catching his lone target. Shane Watts, signed last week, found a crease on an outside zone and finished with a team-high 52 yards on 15 carries. And fellow rookie Micah Bernard, days into his stay, rushed for 16 yards on seven handoffs with Terrell Jennings not cleared to play.
Only seven offensive linemen appear locked into 53-man roster spots for the Patriots as the summer winds down. Rookie draft investments in LSU’s Will Campbell, Georgia’s Jared Wilson and Missouri’s Marcus Bryant stand in that tier. The same goes for vets Ben Brown, Garrett Bradbury, Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses.
Potentially two or three openings were still at stake against the Giants. Vederian Lowe started at left tackle. Sidy Sow started at right guard. The aforementioned Wilson, Brown and Bryant joined them. A stunt on the right side of the protection soon sent the punt team on before the bookends switched sides. Another three-and-out followed.
So did shuffling. Cole Strange, who dealt with a high snap and was called for holding with a yard to go at the goal line, had subbed...
