Patriots
“You’ve got to have a lot of confidence in him, and I do have a lot of confidence. It didn’t waver.”
The Patriots left the field at Hard Rock Stadium with a hard-fought 33-27 win on Sunday afternoon.
But, even with Drake Maye and the Patriots’ offense righting the ship with a dominant performance in South Florida against the Dolphins, New England is entering Week 3 against the Steelers with plenty of question marks in place.
A lot of that concern revolves around a Patriots defensive unit that has surrendered 300-plus passing yards in back-to-back games against the Raiders and Dolphins. But, some of that unsettled sentiment is also rooted in the play of rookie kicker Andy Borregales.
The first kicker selected in the 2025 NFL Draft (sixth round, No. 182 overall), Borregales hasn’t exactly inspired a lot of confidence in his game in the pro ranks.
After missing a 40-yard field goal during New England’s Week 1 loss to Las Vegas, Borregales had a roller-coaster outing against the Dolphins.
While Maye and the Patriots’ offense started off strong with two touchdowns on their first two drives against Miami, the team only held a 12-0 lead after Borregales missed both extra-point opportunities.
Borregales bounced back as the game went on, however.
The kicker out of the University of Miami shook off his early struggles by hitting a 22-yard chip shot for three points at 1:56 of the second quarter — while also converting on the extra point following Antonio Gibson’s 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth.
Borregales saved his best for last, converting on a 53-yard field goal with just 1:51 left in the game to give New England a 33-27 lead that it would not relinquish for the rest of the afternoon.
But ,as evidenced by Borregales then incurring a penalty by delivering a kick that didn’t reach the landing zone on the very next play, the rookie is likely to see some growing pains this fall.
Despite his inconsistent performance so far this season, Borregales received some words of encouragement from Mike Vrabel after Sunday’s win — especially when it came to bouncing back with that fourth-quarter kick from distance.
“You’ve got to have a lot of confidence in him, and I do have a lot of confidence,” Vrabel said of Borregales. “It didn’t waver. I was going to try to go for the fourth-and-5 to try to get it there. Then, when we got backed up, I immediately just kicked the field goal. I’m happy for Andy. That’s why he’s here. I thought after the first two he really settled down, and that’s what we’ll have to have.”
Borregales — who is 4-of-5 on the field-goal attempts and 2-for-4 on extra-point opportunities so far this season — appreciated the backing of his head coach following the win, while also stressing that he must improve.
“I’m always ready for any opportunity,” Borregales told MassLive’s Mark Daniels after the game. “Obviously, with the confidence that Vrabel has in me, putting me out there, I went out there and did my job. Whenever I get out there, I have to do my job. … “I hold myself to a high standard. I have to be better.”
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