The New England Patriots didn’t get the finish they wanted to the preseason Thursday night, and Mike Vrabel didn’t try to soften it.
Cleveland rolled to a 37-13 win behind three passing touchdowns from Dillon Gabriel, and the Patriots spent most of the night chasing the game. Afterward, Vrabel was blunt about what he saw.
"Not good enough," Vrabel said. "Couldn't match the speed of the quarterback in 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."
That was the theme from start to finish. New England came in off an encouraging win over the Philadelphia Eagles a week earlier, but this looked nothing like that performance. The defense was slow to sort out Cleveland’s passing game, and when the Patriots did get hands on receivers, they often couldn’t finish the play.
Several cornerbacks who had drawn praise during camp - Marcellas Dial, Kindle Vildor, Kobee Minor and Charles Woods - had rough nights in game action. Riley Wilson also missed a chance to finish off Browns running back Ahmani Marshall, who got into the end zone. Minor later had another missed tackle in the fourth quarter when Davon Booth spun away from him.
That inability to clean up plays underscored a bigger issue: the Patriots are thin. Vrabel had already said this team wasn’t especially deep, and with the starters sitting out the entire preseason, the burden landed squarely on the backups. Against Cleveland, that group didn’t hold up.
"We have to just continue to try to prepare the football team the best way we can," Vrabel said. "I mean, we got a lot of work to do like everybody else, and the journey, the new journey, the next step in the journey is now building a team and putting that together here at the end of the cut down day.
"And then it'll be, how can we improve along the way? How do we continue to develop the young players?
How do we improve as a football team as the season goes on? And we're excited to get started."
Gabriel’s three touchdown throws put a spotlight on the depth chart behind New England’s top corners. Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones and Carlton Davis are the obvious answers when healthy, but the Patriots didn’t get much from the next wave Thursday night. If one of those starters goes down, the options behind them are a real question.
That issue is only sharper with Gonzalez’s contract negotiations seemingly going sour. Vrabel said he’s still talking with the corner.
"I have conversations with Christian, and I understand that, you know, this is probably something that's difficult," Vrabel said. "Him and I communicate, and he's always free. Our players are always free to feel how they want to feel."
The loss won’t change the record that matters once the games count. New England finished the summer 1-1-1, and now the preseason is over. But the final tune-up did expose exactly what has been hanging over this team: the need for more reliable depth, and fast.
"We need a couple days to get away from each other," Vrabel said. "You put a lot of time in with guys, and you hope that they give you everything that they have."
In Other News...
Browns Put Patriots On The Ropes With A First Half Statement
The Browns spent the first half making their point against New England, building a 27-13 lead that had Cleveland in control well before the break. The offense found a steady rhythm with a mix of touchdowns and field goals, and Luke Floriea was among the names helping keep the pressure on while the Patriots worked to answer with their own touchdown and a pair of kicks from Andy Borregales.
For a Browns team looking to set the tone early, the bigger question was whether that sharp opening could hold up after halftime. Patriots quarterback Behren Morton still had enough time to chip away at the deficit, but Cleveland had already done the hard part by turning its first-half chances into separation, leaving the rest of the afternoon to hinge on whether the Patriots could find a way back into it. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Just Made Their Quarterback Problem Even Tougher To Solve
The Browns walked out of their preseason finale with a win, but the more interesting takeaway was what it did to the quarterback room. Cleveland now has four passers in the mix with Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green all competing for roster spots, and the final game only made the evaluation more complicated. Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green both put together encouraging showings, giving the staff even more to weigh as the regular season approaches.
Cleveland is expected to cut that group from four to three, which turns a crowded depth chart into a tricky late-summer decision. Watsons standing is established, but Sanders, Gabriel and Green are all making the case to stick around, and the Browns now have to decide whether to keep carrying extra young talent or start narrowing the room before the opener. For a team still searching for clarity under center, the preseason did not make the answer any simpler. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Still Face Two Tough Roster Calls After Strong Preseason Showings
The Browns are closing in on the August 30 deadline to trim the roster to 53 players, and most of the conversation around the roster has already shifted from who will make it to which of the final few spots will be hardest to sort out. Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders look locked in, but the back end of the depth chart still has some real intrigue, especially at wide receiver and quarterback as Cleveland gets ready for its September 13 opener.
Gage Larvadain and Cedric Tillman have both come up as possible cuts at receiver, while Dillon Gabriel appears to be the odd man out as the third-string quarterback even after turning in a strong preseason. It is the kind of late-August math every staff has to do, weighing upside, fit and roster construction against what showed up in exhibition games, and for the Browns there is still one more round of tough calls before the regular season picture is complete. [Read more 🡒]