Aug 21, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New England Patriots running back Shane Watts (30) is tackled by New York Giants cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (28) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Patriots Relied Heavily on Rush in Preseason Final

Originally posted on New England Patriots on SI
By Jennifer Streeter | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The New England Patriots have completed their preseason for the upcoming 2025 NFL season.

Unfortunately for the Patriots and new head coach Mike Vrabel, the New England franchise concluded their third and final game of the preseason with a 42-10 loss at the New York Giants. With this being the third week of the preseason, this means the Patriots finished with a 2-1 preseason record.

Week 1 versus the Washington Commanders saw the Patriots open on a hi gh note with a blowout victory (48-18) victory under Vrabel. Week 2 was another win, this time 20-12 over the Minnesota Vikings.

But, the Week 3 game was different for the Pats.

Relying on the Rush

The Giants dominated compared to New England, with the Patriots relying on a backup-heavy lineup and new quarterback Ben Wooldridge.

The 25-year-old signal caller threw for 82 yards on 10 completions of 20 attempts, with one interception.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels handled many presumed starters not touching the field by relying heavily on the rushing game.

Between Wooldridge, Micah Bernard, JaMycal Hasty and Shane Watts, the Patriots rushed for a combined 110 yards compared to 82 total receiving yards.

Watts ran for the most yards, with a total of 52 yards including his longest carry of 13 yards.

In fact, it was noted that McDaniels actually called over 10 consecutive running plays to close out the Thursday night preseason game.

McDaniels called 15 straight running plays to end the game.

What was even the point of suiting up?
— LRS (@MNSPORTSFAN123) August 22, 2025

However, it's worth mentioning that — as is the case with most preseason finals — this game was mainly to see who fills the final 53-man roster. No starters through the second string played.

"We're going to continue trying to strengthen the roster every way we can," Vrabel said in the postgame press conference. "We're always going to be trying to strengthen the roster and that's what we're going to be trying to do over the next ten days ... Where we're at is we're still building and developing."

Overall, the 2-1 preseason record for the Patriots indicates a somewhat solid start under Vrabel's leadership which has been largely based on energy, competitiveness and depth. It's also been evident that roster changes are incoming, with veterans on the trade block.

The difficult loss to the Giants wasn't necessarily unexpected given the amount of rest that was provided to the starts — a frequent move to prioritize regular season prep.

As fans point out all the time, the preseason is great to test the waters but at the end of the day, anything can happen come the regular season.

The New England Patriots will now shift gears to focus on their regular season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders.

This article first appeared on New England Patriots on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: