The Patriots' final preseason game of the 2026 offseason was mostly uneventful, as head coach Mike Vrabel all but explicitly said in the days leading up to the game that it was unlikely any starters would take the field.
That is the first time in recent memory that virtually no starters got any reps in the preseason, and given their lack of depth at key positions, it might be the wisest decision they could have made, even if it is a bit risky.
So the matchup against the Browns was more about watching what the players fighting for a job on this season's roster could do with their one last chance to make a name for themselves. Given how many spots are up for grabs, there were certainly a lot of players to watch closely on Thursday night.
9 takeaways from the Patriots preseason finale loss
1. Despite being one of the few returning receivers to be suited up for the game, Kyle Williams proved (again) that he should have a big part of this year's offense by scoring a 45-yard touchdown from Tommy DeVito on the Patriots' first drive. It was his third of the preseason, and he should have been taken out of the game right after that.
2. Once again, rookie Gabe Jacas looks like he still has a lot of work to do before becoming the top option pass rusher that he was drafted to be. Although he's made progress, missing much of the offseason with the team is proving costly for everyone.
3. With a roster spot on the line, the backup cornerbacks were not playing with any sort of urgency, with Kindle Vildor getting hit with a 28-yard defensive pass interference penalty on the Brown's first drive, and the team going down 27-13 before halftime.
4. The defense as a unit struggled throughout this game, furthering the concerns about the roster not being deep enough to sustain an entire NFL season with any comfort if a starter goes down. It's an issue they'll surely have to fix before Week 1.
5. Mike Vrabel had another quote of the night already at halftime when asked what he wanted to see from the defense for the rest of the game: “A lot more inspiring effort than what we just saw.” This should be a sign to the higher-ups that they need to bring in more talent if they want the defense to be ready to go - especially at linebacker and the pass rush.
6. New punter Matt Haack put on a show in this game and potentially stole the job from Bryce Baringer, at least for the time being. He impressed with long hang times and landing punts deep into Cleveland territory, particularly in the third quarter when he kicked a 63-yarder, forcing the Browns to start at their own 2-yard line.
7. The offensive line lucked out when James Hudson appeared to have hurt his arm in the first half, leaving the game, only to return not long after as a starter. It would have been a disaster if they lost another backup lineman to an injury for the third week in a row, proving even more just how thin they are on the line.
8. Running back Hassan Haskins was the favorite out of the backfield for most of the night, and although he didn't record an impressive stat line, he's a tough runner and looks to have potentially locked up the RB3 spot behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. If not Haskins, then the job could go to JaMycal Hasty again.
9. Quarterback Behren Morton took a noticeable step backward in this game after looking pretty solid over the last two games. There were even talks of a potential battle for the backup role behind Drake Maye with Tommy DeVito, but he appeared to have eliminated himself from that equation with this performance.
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