FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- In the week leading up to the New England Patriots' divisional-round victory against the Tennessee Titans, backup quarterback Brian Hoyer played the role of Marcus Mariota on the scout team and earned praise for his work. He was named one of the team's practice players of the week.
Part of the focus for Hoyer was giving the Patriots' defense a feel for Mariota's scrambling ability, which is timely to revisit with Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles up next.
When Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked about Bortles on Wednesday, the first thing he mentioned was how he makes plays with his feet.