The Patriots used a brand-new O-line in their Week 5 loss at Gillette Stadium.
For the New England Patriots offensive line, the first quarter of the 2024 season was a major challenge. Between personnel issues and insufficient performances, the unit struggled mightily and thus had an active hand in the offense as a whole underperforming.
As a consequence, the Patriots went the “drastic times call for drastic measures” route for their Week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday: the team switched out all five of its starting offensive linemen from the previous week.
While two of the moves were the direct result of injuries — Nick Leverett replacing David Andrews at center; Vederian Lowe returning to man the left tackle spot — the others were not. The Patriots decided to replace both their starting guards, and in a follow-up move needed to insert a new right tackle as well.
New England therefore went into battle with a line consisting of LT Vederian Lowe, LG Michael Jordan, C Nick Leverett, RG Michael Onwenu, and RT Demontrey Jacobs.
The group can be labeled as “makeshift” but it did show some promise versus the Dolphins. That said, the results had a somewhat familiar feel to them at the end of the day: the group looked good in the running game, but pass protection remains a concern.
Overall, though, the arrow appears to be pointing up for the first time in a while.
“I think they did a pretty good job. Obviously, there was pressure throughout the day, but there were also some pockets that seemed pretty clean,” said head coach Jerod Mayo on Monday. “I did think they showed some fight yesterday.”
New England managed to gain 151 rushing yards on 19 carries for a franchise-record average of 7.9 yards per run. The team also scored its lone offensive touchdown on the ground, courtesy of a 33-yard Rhamondre Stevenson scamper.
Meanwhile, starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett was under pressure on 16 of 37 dropbacks for a rate of 43.2 percent. While that number is still too high for New England to operate smoothly in the passing game, it does mark a season-best: Brissett found himself under slightly less pressure against Miami than in previous games, and his two sacks are the lowest since Week 1.
What stands out when looking at how that pressure was created, is that four fifths of the line actually held up pretty well. The lone exception was center Nick Leverett, who had a rough first game filling in for David Andrews.
On the day, Leverett surrendered 10 pressures from his center spot and at times looked outmatched as a pass blocker. He also was flagged twice.
“I hold myself accountable,” Leverett told reporters in the locker room after the game. “It was a lot of stuff I left out there, a lot of nasty play out there. I have to do better, and it starts with me.”
Leverett joined the Patriots on a one-year, $1.775 million contract this offseason, and eventually slotted into a backup spot along the interior offensive line. Under normal circumstances, he would therefore not see the field. With circumstances anything but so far this season for the New England O-line, the 27-year-old was forced into action.
At least versus the Dolphins, he did not hold up as one would hope: Leverett was a weak link up front, to a point where practice squad member Bryan Hudson or the still-rehabbing Cole Strange might just start factoring into the mix further down the line.
“I had a great center in front of me, unfortunately he went down,” Leverett said. “Just trying to jump in there and make those guys feel comfortable. At the end of the day, I have to do better.”
That stands in contrast to the rest of the group, which performed admirably in run blocking and pass protection alike against the Dolphins. Even in a new configuration and with just three days of practice, Lowe, Jordan, Onwenu and Jacobs showed that the Patriots might just have found a lineup worth building on.
Questions still remain at virtually every spot but right guard. The upcoming contest against a talented Houston Texans defense will provide some answers, though, for better or worse.
For now, however, and even with the Patriots having lost their game against Miami, some optimism is warranted. That in itself marks a change compared to the first four games of the season.