Three Winners, Three Losers From Patriots Win Over Vikings

Far and away the team's biggest riser in camp, the undrafted wideout has put together back-to-back games of impressive football. The Eastern Washington rookie led the Patriots in receptions (six), receiving yards (71) and receiving touchdowns (one) in the win, and continues to stack days in what's already been a very impressive summer.

“It doesn’t matter how you get here, only thing that matters is what you do when you get here,” Vrabel said. “I think that’s another great example of that. Chiz, when given opportunities, has taken advantage of them. And we talked about his play strength last week, and I would say that that continued to be true this week.”

LOSER: QB Josh Dobbs

Right behind Drake Maye on the quarterback depth chart, the free agent signee has led either ran the ball into the end zone himself or thrown a touchdown in the two preseason games. Other than that, Dobbs has looked shaky throughout. A number of passes in yesterday's game were errant, an issue that Vrabel addressed earlier in the week.

Early in the first half, Dobbs tried to fit a pass in a tight window for rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams, who got walloped on the play. A bad decision to throw the ball led to Williams taking a hard hit to the head and was later removed fr om game action. Undrafted rookie Ben Wooldridge has shown more signs of promise commanding the offense than Dobbs two games in.

WINNER: DT Isaiah Iton

Iton wasn't even originally on the active roster until he was invited to the team's rookie minicamp as a tryout player. The defensive lineman earned a chance to prove himself in training camp and has parlayed his practice play into a substantial role on the defensive side of the ball.

In Minnesota, Iton rotated a bunch along the line, contributing to a couple of run stuffs up the middle. An injury put an end to his day, but Iton has slowly made a name for himself as a player who can crack the opening day roster as a rotational player.

LOSER: K Andres Borregales

The rookie kicker came to the Patriots as one of the best in college football. Now, despite being almost automatic kicking the ball, is in the most interesting position battle on the team. His fellow kicker, John Parker Romo, has looked equally as good this summer and is forcing the Miami draft pick to be on his best every game.

In Saturday's game, however, Borregales shanked a 57-yard field goal wide left. Like, really wide. Now, it's a long distance for a kick, but Romo had drilled one from that distance just a week prior. Romo hit his lone field goal in yesterday's matchup, but Borregales — who's remained the first kicker to trot out onto the field each week — can't afford a miss in a pretty crucial positional fight.

WINNER: CB Alex Austin

Behind Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones (slot), Alex Austin remains the Patriots' best-kept secret in the secondary. He missed most of last season with a lower-body injury, and after returning off of Injured Reserve, really blended into the defense. Not on Saturday, though.

The third-year cornerback made his push for more playing time, nabbing an interception on a really bad throw from Vikings quarterback Sam Howell. He also tacked on two tackles and didn't allow a reception on the four pass attempts that went in his direction. Austin was likely getting a roster spot anyway, but he's sure proved why he deserves it.

LOSER: CB Tre Avery

Late in the game, the newly-signed cornerback was often on the other side of the Vikings' offensive plays. Former New Hampshire quarterback Max Brosmer picked on Avery in the fourth quarter, hitting wide receiver Tim Jones for a couple chunk plays. Avery played most of his snaps on the outside, bit his frame projects him more as a slot cornerback.

He's currently competing with fellow defensive backs Brandon Crossley, Jordan Polk, Marcus Epps, Dell Pettus and Kobee Minor for spots on this roster come cut-down day.