<\/p>\n
EAGAN, Minn. \u2014 Mike Vrabel came out of the New England Patriots\u2019 first joint practice in Minnesota mostly optimistic.<\/p>\n
Sure, the offense struggled as the O-line got worked and receivers struggled to get open, but second-year quarterback Drake Maye kept his cool against the league\u2019s most complex defense and put his team in the right spots while leaning on rookie TreVeyon Henderson for big plays.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easy to go into a blender when you\u2019re seeing a bunch of this stuff and scrambling and turning one less-than-favorable play into a real s\u2013t storm,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cI didn\u2019t see that (from Maye).\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides, despite the offensive struggles, Vrabel could walk away from Wednesday\u2019s practice in a decent mood because the other side of the ball was so good.<\/p>\n
Based on the first three weeks of practice, the Patriots will have to lean on their defense. That\u2019s where they spent the most money this offseason to revamp the roster. That\u2019s where more talent resides. That\u2019s supposed to be their strength, buying time for the offense to sort things out with two rookies on the left side of the line and a young quarterback learning a new scheme.<\/p>\n
But the second joint practice this week threatened to strip the confidence that came from the defense\u2019s recent momentum. In short, the second of two sessions with the Vikings yielded the Patriots\u2019 worst practice of the summer.<\/p>\n
Yes, the offense struggled again. Maye was pressured so often, it might\u2019ve been easier to chart the few dropbacks that came with a clean pocket. The unit was mostly forced to dink and dunk its way around since the O-line didn\u2019t block well and the receivers struggled to get open \u2014 and, in DeMario Douglas\u2019 case, dropped passes.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not the real concern coming out of the last two days. The offense was expected to struggle against the complex and talented Vikings group that Brian Flores oversees.<\/p>\n
Instead, the real worry is the way the defense played Thursday. J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota\u2019s young quarterback who had struggled against his own defense, suddenly looked like a star against New England. In full team drills, he completed 17 of 20 passes for six touchdowns.<\/p>\n
And that wasn\u2019t all. Vikings coach Kevin O\u2019Connell shouted out his team\u2019s success in the running game, too.<\/p>\n
As we\u2019ve said multiple times in recent days, it\u2019s unwise to put too much stock into any one practice. But since the league-wide trend began of de-emphasizing preseason games, these joint practices have become the best checkpoint for how a team is faring as the season approaches.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Patriots put pressure on McCarthy and disrupted him to the point that it mostly shut down the Vikings offense. On Thursday, however, McCarthy had plenty of time in the pocket.<\/p>\n
That might be what we get from the New England pass rush this season: some solid days where things click, but not enough talent across the board to be consistently good.<\/p>\n
\nThe Patriots\u2019 final joint practice of the summer is over and it was a butt kicking. <\/p>\n
Minnesota was better in just about every drill. The Pats hit a Hail Mary, but few highlights outside that.<\/p>\n
Defense got carved and offense was left to dink and dunk amid lots of pressure.<\/p>\n
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) August 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n