The battle for the New England Patriots No. 3 running back spot was always going to be a major storyline entering Thursday night’s preseason opener. The pregame news of Terrell Jennings getting placed on season-ending injured reserve only heightened the opportunity for those competing for the top backup role behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.
There wasn’t a ton to unpack from a preseason game that ended in a 13-13 tie with no Patriots starter seeing game action. There were, however, a number of intriguing first- and second-year players on the field for fans to watch, and it was an up-and-down day for that group.
With the backup running backs in full focus, here are the biggest risers and fallers from thePatriots' preseason Game 1.
Some of the Patriots' biggest roster battles took an early turn on Thursday night
Winner: Jam Miller, RB
The seventh-round rookie entered Thursday firmly on the roster bubble, but he might now be the leading candidate to replace Jennings as New England’s RB3.
The Patriots' running game struggled as a group to a 2.6-yard-per-carry average, with injuries along the interior, including center Ben Brown, among the factors. Miller protected the football and was efficient with his 14 carries, turning them into 55 yards with a long of 15.
The arrow’s pointing up.
Loser: Lan Larison, RB
Larison’s superpower is his receiving abilities out of the backfield, and the good on Thursday night was that he caught six of his eight targets. The bad was that he averaged only 6.3 yards per reception on those catches with no explosives, and he went nowhere on seven rushing attempts, netting just 1 yard.
Larison’s versatility has made him an easy fan favorite during training camp, but he’ll need to prove he can add value as a rusher to stick around on the active roster, and this was a rough start.
Winner: Kyle Williams, WR
Williams’ elite separation skills at the line of scrimmage have been on display throughout training camp, and he showcased some of that on Thursday at the expense of Colts cornerback Johnathan Edwards.
Williams shook off Edwards for a 12-yard touchdown from quarterback Tommy DeVito in the first half, and a couple of drives later, he showed some nice wiggle along the sideline to get away from Edwards for a 25-yard gain.
Head coach Mike Vrabel has been adamant that Williams will have a role this year, and his 18.5 yards per reception on Thursday was a good sign. The Patriots need his speed on offense.
Winner: Brayden Swinson, EDGE
Swinson is battling players like seventh-round rookie Quintayvious Hutchins for the fifth edge rusher spot behind Harold Landry Jr., Dre’Mont Jones, Gabe Jacas, and Elijah Ponder. Thursday night was an excellent start for the Patriots’ 2025 fifth-round draft pick.
Swinson didn’t start — Jacas and Hutchins got the nod — but he outplayed both of them with three solo tackles, a batted pass on fourth down, and a QB hit that led to a flutter-ball interception.
If Hutchins was ahead of Swinson entering preseason Game 1, the second-year pro out of LSU just closed the gap.
Loser: Gabe Jacas, EDGE
This may be a tad harsh, as after missing the entire spring program and the start of training camp due to a contract dispute, it was a win just to have Jacas on the field on Thursday.
But against backup players, fans were hoping to see their second-round rookie make some plays, and the ones that stood out were mostly negative.
Jacas did show some edge-setting abilities against the rush and made five total tackles, but he got caught in no-man’s land a couple of times with Anthony Richardson and the Colts running some read-option, including a Richardson run for 22 yards.
He’ll get better with more practice reps and classroom time, but it would have been great to see Jacas in the backfield affecting the quarterback more in this game.
Winner: K.J. Britt, LB
The sixth-year veteran is still making his case for a roster spot, battling with guys like Chad Muma, undrafted rookie Khalil Jacobs, and sixth-round rookie Namdi Obiazor. Britt did himself some favors on Thursday by making plays.
Britt made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and followed that up by chasing down Richardson and forcing a fumble on a punch-out. Vrabel’s been preaching forced turnovers, so sequences like that could go a long way in the film room come roster cutdown day.
Winner: Bryce Baringer, P
That’s right, let's give the punter his flowers. Baringer struggled during last year’s playoff run and wound up netting a career-low 40.6 yards per punt in 2025. That led Patriots fans to want to see Vrabel bring in some competition for the now fourth-year punter.
Baringer was on his game in Thursday’s preseason opener. He had six punts, averaged 51.5 yards per kick, and placed three inside the 20 with no touchbacks.
It’s no secret that the Patriots will face a tougher schedule in 2026. Winning the field position battle will have added importance, and the Patriots will need Baringer to be at his best.
Loser: Andy Borregales, K
It was at this time last year that Patriots fans were wondering if Borregales or journeyman John Parker Romo would win the team’s kicking competition. Borregales, New England’s sixth-round draft pick in 2025, had a shaky summer and September, but wound up finding his footing and was a value-add during his rookie season.
He went 27-for-32 on field goal attempts during the regular season and was 4-for-4 from 50-plus yards.
Maybe it was New England’s much-discussed FieldTurf that was installed days before Thursday’s game. Or maybe it was new long snapper Niko Lalos. But Borregales struggled against the Colts, missing three kicks total, including a potential game-winner from just inside 50 yards.
The other misses were from 56 and 55 yards, but long kicks are kind of Borregales’ thing. It’s too early to sound the alarms. Vrabel certainly won’t. But this was not a great start for the Patriots’ kicker, who had reportedly been nailing everything during training camp.
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