Here are some quick reactions following the New England Patriots’ first exhibition game of 2026 against the Indianapolis Colts, which saw the team finish with a 13-13 tie at the end of regulation Thursday night.
An Undisciplined Performance
One of the more frustrating parts of Thursday night’s performance by the Patriots was the fact that some of the best plays of the night ended up not counting on the stat sheet thanks to untimely penalties.
New England benefited from two of them on their first possession, with Colts defensive back Mekhi Blackmon getting flagged twice for pass interference, which helped set up the Patriots’ first points of the night after Andy Borregales hit a 40-yard field goal to put them up 3-0.
But on their third possession, they shot themselves in the foot on more than one play.
The first happened after Tommy DeVito, who started the game at quarterback Thursday night, hit rookie tight end Eli Raridon on a nice catch-and-run for 24 yards, but the play was called back after Caleb Lomu was flagged for being an ineligible man downfield.
Their bad luck would continue after DeVito connected on a 48-yard completion to Cameron Dorner, who made a great play on the ball for what should have put them at the Colts’ 22-yard line.
Instead, offensive lineman James Hudson joined Lomu for being flagged as an ineligible man downfield, negating the long completion.
DeVito would go on to finish the drive with a terrific touchdown pass to Kyle Williams, but it required them to continue overcoming what were definitely some frustrating mistakes.
“Yeah, certainly not our cleanest game on offense, especially, a lot of penalties, a lot of little things that kind of set us back,” said DeVito after the game. “When you have 3 or 4 explosives in a drive that get called back, it’s tough to score that way. But there was definitely a lot of good that happened.”
“You could tell when we were playing, everybody was doing their job, the ball was moving down the field. But, like I said, just didn’t start off hot enough. And I think that a lot of the penalties and little mistakes here and there, they just need to get nipped in the bud early because it just kills drives.”
DeVito’s Solid Preseason Continues
DeVito finished Thursday night completing 13-of-22 (59%) for 138 yards along with a touchdown, but he did get better as the night went on.
He started the game 2-of-5 (40%), and admitted afterward that “the juices were flowing maybe a little too much.” But from there, he finished 11-of-17 (64.7%) and ended up making some outstanding throws, including a couple that – as mentioned above – didn’t end up on the stat sheet.
“Yeah, I think just stuff was gonna click,” said DeVito. “I think for myself, I mean, I missed a couple throws early, one over to Mack [Hollins] down the middle. I think the juices were flowing maybe a little too much. A little too much excitement, a little too much pace on the ball.”
“So really just taking some time to settle in, like we said, first time really bullets are flying around myself, specifically because we have that red jersey on [in practice]. So it’s a little different, but it’s good. Once you get into that flow and then start feeling it and the guys around you are playing, it just becomes easy at that point.”
Overall, he completed passes to six different receivers, and he continued to look comfortable out there running the offense.
Miller Surprises at RB
Jam Miller ended up being a pleasant surprise Thursday night. He saw some carries early in the game and looked like a player with plenty of confidence out there with DeVito and the first offense.
Miller finished the night as the Patriots’ leading rusher, carrying 14 times for 55 yards.
It’s the first real look we’ve had of the 2026 seventh-round pick in a game situation, and he certainly impressed. He’s a player who runs downhill and hits the holes hard, and he also showed pretty good vision against Indianapolis’ defense.
Larison didn’t have the same success carrying the football (7 attempts, 1 yard), but instead looked smooth in the passing game coming out of the backfield. He caught all 4 of his targets Thursday night, finishing with 31 yards.
Newcomers Hassan Haskins and JaMycal Hasty also each saw action Thursday night. Haskins finished with 5 carries for 15 yards, while Hasty carried the football 5 times for 11 yards.
Each of these players is vying for a spot in New England’s backfield, and when asked after the game about them, Vrabel felt it’s a little early to pass judgment, especially for the new players.
“Yeah, I mean, I think you try to see what you have in the young guys, and then those guys are veterans, they’ve played, they’re probably two different style of backs,” said Vrabel of Hasty and Haskins. “But I like both of them personally.”
“We’ve had some experience with Ja’MyCal and then going back to Tennessee with Hassan, and I think it’s probably too early to tell for both of them. I know that they’re going to compete, but we just got them yesterday to be able to get them ready for the game. I appreciate Tony Dews’ efforts to be able to do that.”
Williams Comes Up with the Game’s Only Touchdown
Kyle Williams’ speed continues to be on display this preseason, and the second-year receiver came up with New England’s only touchdown of the night.
The play came after the Patriots overcame their second ineligible man downfield play of the game, which nullified a would-be 48-yard completion to Dorner. DeVito hit Dorner on an 18-yard reception, and then later in the drive hit Chism for a 20-yard completion that got them into Colts territory.
A 15-yard run by Miller got them into the red zone, and three plays later, DeVito dropped a perfectly thrown 12-yard pass to Williams in the end zone for the touchdown.
Williams also snagged a 25-yard pass on the first play of the next series, then had another deep target from DeVito fall incomplete with the defender never turning back for the football. Williams, however, also failed to take advantage of the defender’s position and potentially draw a flag.
That was something Vrabel was seen talking to him about after the play.
“Yeah, the defender wasn’t playing the football, and as grossly underthrown as that ball was, still we want to try to make an attempt to come back and understand the rules and how they’re calling it,” explained Vrabel. “And if the defender’s not playing the ball, let’s see if we can’t go back and get a cheap one and try to create some contact if they’re not playing the ball.”
Patriots Secondary Depth Continues To Impress
Through this point of camp, Kindle Vildor continues to be a name we’re seeing more and more, and he came up with another good performance Thursday night.
Vildor came up with an interception early in the contest after Channing Canada made a nice play on Colts receiver Coleman Owen.
The play came on a pass from Anthony Richardson, which Canada read perfectly and came flying up to make the hit. After causing the incompletion, the ball fluttered in the air for a moment after Owen couldn’t hang on, and Vildor alertly snagged the deflection.
It was a terrific heads-up play, and Vildor’s foot made contact with Owen’s after he came down with the football. Had that not happened, he might have been off to the races for a potential pick-six.
Canada also had a strong outing, leading the team with seven tackles while making several nice plays.
But so far, the Patriots seem to have some guys, including Karon Prunty, who are beginning to consistently play well. It’s a group that, despite not featuring many big names, is quietly turning into a pretty good competition at cornerback.
That’s definitely good news, especially considering how differently things looked at that position back at the start of the preseason.
Rough Night For Borregales
Borregales started the night off on the right foot after hitting a 40-yard field goal to close out New England’s first drive, but things sort of fell apart from there.
He missed a 56-yard field goal on the Patriots’ third offensive possession, which, given the distance, could possibly have been forgiven, especially after he hit one from 52 yards on their first possession of the second half.
But he then missed one from 55 yards out, which sailed wide left, and then missed what would have been the game-winner from 49 yards out at the end of regulation.
Meanwhile, the Colts, who have two kickers in camp, saw Spencer Shrader hit field goals from 46 and 61 yards. With long kicks becoming more the norm, Vrabel said after the game that the expectation in the NFL is for a kicker to be able to make field goals.
“Three,” said Vrabel when asked about Borregales’ misses. “I don’t have a message. I mean, we’re expected to make them. That’s pro football.”
“They’re banging them in from 60 yards. They got 2 kickers on the roster. So, Andy knows we have to make those field goals.”
Vrabel was later asked again about his kicker, specifically whether or not they might consider bringing in competition. This time, Vrabel gave a more measured answer.
“Well, I’m sure we’ll talk about it and see where we’re at,” said Vrabel. “I’m not going to make some decision tonight. But again, we’re going to have misses. We’re going to have mistakes in everything we do. We just need to be able to come back. We need to be able to bounce back, and we need to be able to answer.”
“Guys are going to drop a pass, guys are going to miss a block, we’re going to miss a kick, but you just have to not let those things pile up. And Andy’s been really good with that. And I would anticipate him getting back to work and really starting to focus. And maybe it was a footwork thing or trying to overswing.”
“But I have confidence in Andy. I just … you want to be able to make those. And I think we got in a position to win the football game, and you want to be able to make them.”
Nice Night For Baringer
Meanwhile, Bryce Baringer stepped up with some big punts on Thursday night.
He flipped the field on more than one occasion, booming punts of 56, 53, 65, 46, and 54, as well as hitting one for 35 yards that he dropped in at the Colts’ 8-yard line.
He’s been a player who received a fair amount of criticism, especially due to the fact that he was inconsistent in 2025, including during some key moments down the stretch.
Thursday night saw him make more of a case for himself, and hopefully he’ll put together a couple more good performances over the next two games.
Vrabel “Challenged” Jacas
Rookie Gabe Jacas saw his first game action Thursday night and appeared to have a decent outing.
We saw him set the edge on more than one play, showing off his strength and power during the contest. However, there were also a couple of plays where Vrabel admitted he was surprised to see Jacas get beaten by players the coach felt he should have been able to handle, including on special teams.
Vrabel said he then challenged his young player, and he expects his development to continue.
“Just probably have to watch it and – I’m not going to talk too much – I challenged him on a kickoff, and he made a tackle,” said Vrabel. “I didn’t think that his efforts were maybe good enough on the kickoff. I didn’t expect that the guy that was blocking him to be able to block him, and then I challenged him, and he came up with a tackle on a kickoff. So that was a positive. And then we’ll just keep coaching him, just like the rest of the guys.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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