New England Patriots
Borregales hasn’t had much competition this summer. That might change after Thursday night’s performance.
Andy Borregales AP Photo/Mark Stockwell
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FOXBOROUGH – Andy Borregales hasn’t had much competition this summer.
That might change after the Patriots kicker missed three field goals, including a potential game-winner, during New England’s season-opening tie against the Colts.
“I’m sure we’ll talk about it and see where we’re at,” Vrabel said when asked if he would consider bringing in some competition. “I’m not going to make any decision tonight. But again, we’re going to have misses. We’re going to have mistakes. In everything we do, we just need to be able to come back.”
“We need to be able to bounce back, and we need to be able to answer. Guys are going to drop a pass. Guys are going to miss a block. We’re going to miss a kick. But you just have to not let those things pile up, and Andy’s been really good with that.”
Borregales finished 2-for-5 on field-goal attempts Thursday night. He hit a 40-yarder on the Patriots’ opening drive and made one from 52 yards in the third quarter. But, he had misses from 49, 55, and 56 yards.
“I guess I’ve got to just go back, watch the film, and build from there,” Borregales said.
The 49-yard miss came with 13 seconds to go in the game. The Patriots and Colts were tied at 13, but the kick sailed wide of the uprights. Borregales said he felt like he “hooked it.” The 56-yard attempt wasn’t close to being made.
Borregales was asked if he was toying with any new mechanics during the preseason.
“I’m definitely not trying anything different,” Borregales said. “At this point, it’s just going back to the basics.”
This isn’t the first time that Borregales has dealt with a rough start. He missed a pair of extra points against Miami during Week 2 last season. He didn’t miss an extra point for the rest of the year, finishing 53-for-55.
He went 27-for-32 on field-goal attempts last season, good for 84.4 percent. He was 23rd amongst qualified players in field goal percentage last season, and tied for 15th in made field-goals. He made all four of his attempts from 50-plus yards.
Vrabel said he is confident that Borregales will turn things around after Thursday night’s rough start.
“I would anticipate him getting back to work and really starting to focus,” Vrabel said of Borregales’s misses against the Colts. “Maybe it was a footwork thing or trying to overswing. But I have confidence in Andy.”
“I just, you want to be able to make those, and I think we got in a position to win the football game, and you want to be able to make them.”
The Patriots drafted Borregales in the sixth round of the 2025 draft. He beat out John Parker Romo during training camp last season. This year in training camp, there hasn’t been a kicking competition.
There might end up being one, though, if Borregales is unable to show the coaching staff that he can turn it around.
“We’re expected to make them. That’s pro football,” Vrabel said. “They’re banging them in from 60 yards. They got two kickers on the roster, so Andy knows that we have to make those field goals.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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