The New England Patriots’ preseason ended with the kind of night everyone in Foxborough will be glad to leave behind.
Thursday’s finale in Cleveland got away from them fast, and stayed that way. The Browns scored 27 first-half points on their way to a 37-13 win, turning what should have been one last look at the back end of the roster into a lopsided mess.
Most of the Patriots’ key names never dressed for the game, which left the night to the depth players trying to squeeze out a roster spot. Drake Maye, Tre’Veyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson, DeMario Douglas, A.J.
Brown, Mack Hollins, Romeo Doubs, Hunter Henry, Will Campbell, Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and a long list of other starters and important pieces all sat. EDGE Harold Landry and safety Brenden Schooler also remained out, meaning neither one appeared at all during the summer.
The Browns wasted little time taking control. Dillon Gabriel guided two smooth early scoring drives, both ending with Luke Floriea catching touchdown passes.
The first came on a seven-play, 67-yard march in under 3:30, with Floriea fighting through contact at the goal line to get across the plane despite Kindle Vildor’s coverage and a defensive pass interference flag on Vildor earlier in the drive. Cleveland’s next possession produced nearly the same result, with Gabriel finding Floriea again after he slipped past Marcellas Dial.
New England answered quickly. Tommy DeVito hit Kyle Williams on a deep ball down the left sideline for a 45-yard touchdown, and Williams kept his strong August going. He found the end zone in all three preseason games, and his ability to release cleanly off the line kept showing up.
That was about as good as it got for the Patriots’ offense. Cleveland added a 35-yard field goal from Andre Szmyt, then rookie quarterback Behren Morton came on for New England and immediately threw one into trouble.
His first pass clipped the ankle of tight end C.J. Dippre and popped into the air, where Easton Mascarenas-Arnold picked it off.
The Patriots did get a stop to force Szmyt into a 47-yard try, and he barely squeezed it inside the left upright. By halftime, Gabriel had carved up New England for 12 completions on 15 attempts, 186 yards and three touchdowns, and Cleveland’s lead had swelled to 27-10 after his third scoring throw, a touchdown to running back Ahmani Marshall that came after Riley Wilson was a step slow and couldn’t keep up.
New England’s final points before the break came on a 33-yard field goal from Borregales, though Morton nearly ended that drive with another turnover when he forced a throw toward the end zone.
One of the brighter spots for the Patriots came on special teams. Veteran punter Haack, making his Patriots debut after Bryce Baringer’s injury last week, had a strong night with four punts for 186 yards.
Three landed inside the Browns’ 20, including back-to-back gems to open the second half. One Browns return ended with Gage Larvadain running backward and being tackled at his own two, and Haack’s next punt went 63 yards before Chad Muma downed it at the two again.
The Browns tacked on more in the fourth quarter when Davon Booth broke off the left tackle and slipped past Kobee Minor for a touchdown. It was the third missed tackle by the Patriots inside the five-yard line, and Minor, Vildor and Charles Woods all had rough nights while trying to make their cases.
Morton’s night finished with another interception late in the fourth, this one after he scrambled left and tried to find Nick DeGennaro down the sideline. Justin Jefferson got to him as he threw, and the ball was picked off. Morton ended 15-of-24 for 89 yards with two interceptions after a preseason that had gone better than this.
There was one clear bright spot on offense. Undrafted receiver Kyle Dixon caught all eight of his targets for 71 yards and led New England in receiving. After missing time earlier in camp with an injury, he may have done enough to put himself in line for a practice squad job.
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