Image courtesy of New England Patriots 

FOXBOROUGH – Moments before his game-sealing strip sack against the Eagles on Friday night, Quintayvious Hutchins wasn’t happy with himself.

Hutchins had made a mistake on the kickoff team, but quickly made his loudest case yet for a roster or practice squad spot, sacking Cole Payton and stripping the ball, allowing Casey Rogers to fall on it and seal the win.

With one week to go until roster cuts and one preseason game left on Thursday, the biggest moment of Hutchins’ football career came at the perfect time.

“Yeah, definitely,” Hutchins said with a big smile in the locker room postgame. “It means a lot. It’s definitely the No. 1 play of my life would far. I was still stuck in my head from the previous kickoff return. I just had a simple thought of going and ending the game right there.”

Hutchins had two tackles in the first preseason game and while he continues to look for more consistency on special teams, his speed off the outside the game-clinching play could open some eyes, especially with EDGE still lacking depth.

“I feel like after the first preseason game, it was just like back in college,” Hutchins said speaking on how much more comfortable he’s gotten. “Get the call, line up and just execute the call.”

Just how much he’s learned about being a pro in a short amount of time will be tested this week.

Short weeks weren’t really a thing at BC unless there was the rare Friday night game. New England has practice Monday and Tuesday before flying to Cleveland Wednesday. Hutchins will most likely see quite a bit of time in the preseason finale on Thursday as he continues to fight for a role.

“Recovery,” Hutchins quickly added when asked what he thinks the key to being ready for a quick turnaround will be. “Take care of your body. Take care of your mind.

“It’s a shorter week, so the better you can prepare yourself mentally and physically, you’ll be ready for the week.”