Boutte, Patriots: One 'Foot' From Contending?

Rookie receiver Kayshon Boutte was mere inches from becoming a New England Patriots folk hero during last Sunday's season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

It'll never appear in the down-and-distance section of Gillette Stadium's (renovated) scoreboard. But Kayshon Boutte failed to convert "4th and 2 Feet" in his NFL debut.

The New England Patriots accomplished a lot in last Sunday's 25-20 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles, but Bouttte's first NFL breakout highlight will have to wait. The sixth-round rookie out of LSU was fruitless on four targets in a statistical sense. Technically speaking, he caught the final ball that Mac Jones threw to him in the final half-minute of play but NFL regulations denied him official entry into the reception archives.

That "catch" was originally listed as a dozen-yard gain on an 11-yard fourth down in the game's dying stages, one that situated New England just eight yards from a go-ahead score and on the cusp of what would've been one of the most unexpected Week 1 upset. Alas for the Foxborough faithful, Boutte failed to the two feet in bounds necessary to complete the catch process, dooming New England to an early loss.

Eric Canha, USA TODAY SPORTS

"There are opportunities that came our way today that everybody got to make. And I felt like that was my opportunity,” Boutte said in the aftermath, per MassLive.com. “We practice it day in and day out. That’s something I feel like I could’ve caught.”

With arguably the NFL's greatest comeback artist - Tom Brady - in the building, Boutte's day perhaps perfectly personified what the Patriots went through. Whereas they surprisingly kept pace with the defending Super Bowl finalists, some would likely find it surprising that a day three pick would be on the field in the clutch stages of his maiden NFL voyage. 

Ever the apparent optimist, Boutte felt it was a sign of immediate progress that the Patriots trusted him with final drive duties from the get-go.

“I feel good,” Boutte said. “Finally start the season, no more preseason, (I) feel good kind of going into every week knowing it’s a big game.”

Boutte was one of several potential aerial threats making their respective debuts in the New England lineup: fellow rookie Demario Douglas fared better statistically, hauling in 40 yards on four receptions while veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster had a quartet of his own and gained 33.

Coaches seemed to hold similar optimism toward the newcomers' efforts but stressed that Boutte and his compatriots will have to adjust to the NFL game sooner rather than later ... including knowing how many feet inbounds constitute a catch.

"It’s something you need to work on when you get to this league,” Patriots receivers coach Troy Brown said this week, per the Boston Globe. “Obviously the fundamentals that you teach in the pros are a little bit different when it comes down to that kind of stuff.”

Boutte will have another chance to chase his first NFL reception on Sunday night when the Patriots open divisional play against the Miami Dolphins in prime time (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).