For one day, at least, it looked the New England Patriots could not have made a worse decision regarding their kicker.
The Patriots survived a thriller in Miami to beat the Dolphins in Week 2 for the first win of the Mike Vrabel era. It was dicey at times, though, thanks in large part to two missed extra points from kicker Andres Borregales. His nervy performance then looked even worse when the man he beat for the job, Parker Romo, had the game of his life on “Sunday Night Football” for the Atlanta Falcons.
Patriots’ Cast-Off Plays Hero for Falcons as Borregales Struggles
Borregales won the kicking job after a summer battle with Romo, who had a strong showing. In the end, though, the Patriots turned to the player they drafted — they took Borregales with the 182nd overall pick — for the gig. Romo landed with the Atlanta Falcons, and he has wasted no time making an impact. He usurped Younghoe Koo as the starter and then was the star in their Week 2 win over Minnesota, connecting on all five of his field goal attempts.
He is 5/5 on the night in his debut with the #Falcons, including this 54 yarder.
The former @XFLBrahmas kicker is shining tonight.
@Romo_HKA | #UFLtoNFLRomo even earned a game ball from Falcons head coach Raheem Morris for his performance.
Romo’s performance, especially in Minnesota, wasn’t a huge surprise, though. The numbers speak for themselves. He was 11-for-12 last season as the Vikings kicker, and by all accounts, he produced throughout the summer with the Patriots.
I think you should go all the way in and just say to Romo ‘You’re our guy,'” longtime NFL head coach Tony Romo said on NBC before the game. “You talk about confidence, he’s confident. he told us before the game he knows the building. (He said), ‘I’m good from 65 (yards) either way. I’m gonna be fine out here tonight.'”
That he was.
Patriots Insist They Have Confidence in Borregales
Meanwhile, in Foxboro, the questions will linger about Borregales. The 22-year-old missed both of his first two extra-point attempts in Miami on the heels of missing a relative chip shot in Week 1 against Las Vegas … a game the Patriots lost by three points.
It wasn’t all bad, though. After a brutal false start penalty on Morgan Moses in the fourth quarter, the Patriots were forced to settle for a field goal instead of a potential game-icing fourth-down conversion. Given Borregales’ issues, the 54-yarder was no guarantee, but the Miami product booted it through for some needed breathing room.
Of course, he followed up the bomb by failing to get the ensuing kickoff into the landing zone, giving the Dolphins tremendous field position that they ultimately weren’t able to capitalize on.
“Yeah, you’ve got to have a lot of confidence in him and I do have a lot of confidence,” Vrabel told reporters after the game. “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.”
Patriots’ Kicker Decision Looks Even Worse After Cast-Off Rescues Falcons