Mike Vrabel Defends Patriots Kicker Despite Week 2 Struggles

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel still is confident in rookie kicker Andres Borregales, despite his struggles in Week 2.

The Patriots selected Borregales in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he beat out Parker Romo for the kicking job. However, in New England’s 33-27 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, he missed back-to-back extra points.

Despite the early struggles, Borregales did rebound, hitting a 53-yard field goal to secure a Patriots 33-27 win. But his ensuing kickoff fell short of the landing zone, giving Miami a short field, though New England’s defense was able to hold the Dolphins out of the end zone.

Vrabel defended his kicker after the game.

“Yeah, you’ve got to have a lot of confidence in him and I do have a lot of confidence,” Vrabel told reporters in Miami. “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 finished the game 2-for-2 on field goals and 1-for-3 on extra points.

The rookie kicker finished the game strong, but he knows he needs to make those extra points going forward.

“Obviously, it’s a roller coaster, but at the end of the day, just got to be better. That’s it,” Borregales told MassLive. “… I hold myself to a high standard. I have to be better.”

Borregales says he just pushed the kicks and knows it’s an easy mistake to fix.

The Patriots will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 21.