{"id":74190,"date":"2026-08-14T12:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T16:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=74190"},"modified":"2026-08-14T12:44:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T16:44:32","slug":"friday-patriots-notebook-8-14-receiver-battle-is-getting-interesting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2026\/08\/14\/friday-patriots-notebook-8-14-receiver-battle-is-getting-interesting\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Patriots Notebook 8\/14: Receiver Battle is Getting Interesting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking back at Thursday night’s 13-13 finish against the Colts, the Patriots certainly had the potential to put up far more points than the 13 they mustered.<\/p>\n

Thursday night was simply a case of missed opportunities, and it started on the opening drive.<\/p>\n

They should have had a touchdown on that first series.\u00a0 Tommy DeVito threw a perfect deep ball downfield to Mack Hollins that the receiver couldn’t quite come up with.<\/p>\n

On the play, Hollins beat both defensive back Mekhi Blackmon and safety Jonathan Owens up the right sideline, with the veteran finding himself wide open and the ball hitting him right at the goal line.<\/p>\n

Had Hollins made the reception, he likely would have finished off the play and scored, but it instead fell incomplete.\u00a0 Part of what threw off the timing was that Blackmon grabbed Hollins as he initially accelerated past him, and the cornerback was ultimately flagged for pass interference.<\/p>\n

Still, that’s a catch Hollins likely makes more often than not.\u00a0 Scott Zolak said during the broadcast that the drop likely came due to the wideout losing it in the lights at Gillette Stadium.\u00a0 Instead of a touchdown, the Patriots ended up settling for a 40-yard field goal.<\/p>\n

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(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They then had two missed opportunities on their third drive.\u00a0 The first came after DeVito rolled to his right and hit rookie Eli Raridon, who was coming back across the field.\u00a0 Raridon made the reception and then headed up the right sideline with Hollins out in front of him as a blocker for what would have been a 24-yard reception.<\/p>\n

Instead, Caleb Lomu, who was in at right tackle, ended up getting engaged with his man too far upfield, which led to him being flagged for “ineligible downfield pass,” negating the play.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s unfortunate. Penalties happen in the game. It\u2019s just as an illegal man downfield, we were throwing the ball, can\u2019t be 3 yards more down the field when they throw,” said Lomu on the play after the game<\/strong><\/a>. “And so I’ve just got to be smarter on that and realizing now what was going on in the play. But it\u2019s just an unfortunate situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two plays later, a 16-yard catch-and-run by Larison was negated due to Efton Chism getting flagged for “illegal block above the waist,” which kept the Patriots stuck in their own territory.\u00a0 DeVito would come up with an 18-yard throw to Hollins to move the chains, but those plays kept New England from getting any momentum.<\/p>\n

From there, the drive ultimately stalled and ended with a missed 56-yard field goal by Borregales, who missed three field goals in this game.<\/p>\n

“Certainly not our cleanest game on offense, especially, a lot of penalties, a lot of little things that kind of set us back,” DeVito told reporters after the game<\/strong><\/a>. “When you have 3 or 4 explosives [explosive plays] in a drive that get called back, it\u2019s 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.”<\/p>\n

“But, like I said, just didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 48-yard bomb from DeVito to Cameron Dorner that was called back is probably the most disappointing.\u00a0 DeVito had pressure bearing down on him and made an unbelievable throw as he released the football, with Dorner fighting off tight coverage to come up with the play.<\/p>\n

Instead, James Hudson was also called for “ineligible downfield pass,” which negated the completion.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, that was the one drive DeVito was able to finish off, with Kyle Williams hauling in a 12-yard touchdown.<\/p>\n

But the mistakes were brutal, and they’re a big reason why the Patriots weren’t able to muster more than 13 points against a Colts defense that wasn’t exactly lights out Thursday night.<\/p>\n

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(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Douglas Appears Safe<\/h3>\n

DeMario Douglas joined both A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs as spectators on the sideline Thursday night, giving a glimpse at where things stand right now in terms of the receiver depth chart.<\/p>\n

Currently, the thought is that the Patriots have a group of seven that’s one-man heavy heading into these final weeks of training camp.<\/p>\n

The list looks like this, with the final three not necessarily in any order:<\/p>\n

Patriots top receivers:<\/strong><\/h4>\n