Analyzing the Patriots’ injury situation after their 24-3 loss to the Jets.
As if losing 24-3 in largely noncompetitive fashion on national television isn’t bad enough, the New England Patriots also saw several of their players get banged up during their Thursday night game against the New York Jets. The team announced only three injuries in-game, but the number of situations to watch is significantly higher.
With that said, let’s take a look at the damage suffered in Week 3 after re-watching the contest.
Injury analysis
S Jabrill Peppers: Peppers was slow to get up on the first play of the second quarter, after taking a friendly-fire shot from teammate Keion White. He headed to the blue medical tent, missed his first snaps of the season along the way, and was announced as questionable to return due to an ankle injury. The team captain was back later that same quarter, departed early for the locker room, returned after intermission, and finished the game having played 57 of 73 defensive snaps.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson: Stevenson’s 19-yard run in the second quarter was a classic “when it rains it pours” play. Not only did the play result in a net loss of 2 yards after he was called for face-masking the opponent, the fourth-year man also appeared to hurt his finger in the process. Stevenson was checked out on the sidelines, but stayed in the game with no injury being announced. Whether all of that contributed to his fumble later in the game is impossible to tell, but it seems unlikely.
WR Tyquan Thornton: The Patriots’ primary perimeter receiver the first two weeks of the season, Thornton had his lowest playing time share of the season on Thursday. It looks like the team simply wanted to give other receivers more opportunities, but an injury scare might have also accelerated the decision-making process: Thornton was hit hard on an incomplete pass right after the Stevenson penalty and briefly remained on the ground. He was back on the field three plays later, though.
QB Jacoby Brissett: The Patriots’ starting quarterback was under relentless pressure all night, and more than one of the shots he took looked serious. One particularly stands out, though: on a 12-yard sack in the third quarter, Brissett was slow to get up and seemed to be in some pain. He played six more snaps over the remainder of the game before being pulled for rookie Drake Maye, even though no injury was announced.
CB Alex Austin: The Patriots announced Austin as questionable to return with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, but it is unclear when the injury happened. He was last on the field on the first play of the fourth quarter, and appeared to be fine.
G Michael Jordan: The Patriots’ starting left guard played his last snap with 14:11 left in the fourth quarter, and was later announced as questionable to return with a knee issue. When the injury happened is unclear, though, because neither did he appear to get shaken up on that specific play nor on any of his previous reps.
ED Anfernee Jennings: Jennings briefly left the game after making a tackle for loss on an Isaiah Davis run in the early fourth quarter. He landed hard on his right shoulder on the play, and seemed to experience some discomfort. However, no injury was announced and he was back on the field shortly thereafter.
DE Keion White: White remained on the ground following a run play in the fourth quarter and was spotted pointing at his right ankle or shin area. He left the field with members of the training staff and missed one defensive snaps, but returned for the next series without any obvious limitations. He later took the podium after the game, indicating that he did not suffer any serious injury.
OT Caedan Wallace: The starting left tackle for the game against the Jets, Wallace missed the final 14 snaps due to a knee injury. Jets defensive lineman Leonard Taylor appeared to have stepped on the back of the rookie’s leg causing the injury. Wallace came up limping, signaled to get off and was replaced by Demontrey Jacobs for the remainder of the final drive.
What this means for the Patriots
The Patriots’ mini-bye came at an opportune time because they suffered a lot of injuries on Thursday, most prominently along the offensive line.
They were already without starting left tackle Vederian Lowe (knee) and primary backup Chukwuma Okorafor (left squad) to force Caedan Wallace into the lineup; when he exited the game, fourth-string OT and recent waiver wire claim Demontrey Jacobs made his debut as a Patriot.
At left guard, the Patriots entered the game with Sidy Sow sidelined (ankle) let alone Cole Strange (knee) remaining on the physically unable to perform list. They had to replace the next man up — Michael Jordan, who started the year on the practice squad — with Zachary Thomas in the fourth quarter.
The extra days of rest might help some of Lowe, Wallace, Sow or Jordan return to the field, but even so the state of the offensive line remains a major concern. If they cannot go, New England is looking at starting Jacobs and Thomas against a talented San Francisco 49ers front. Then again, the matchup probably would be in the opponents’ favor regardless of who was available given the overall state of the Patriots’ O-line.
As for the other injuries, Alex Austin’s status is the biggest question mark. If he is unable to go on Sunday, Marco Wilson would likely return off the inactives list to resume the No. 4 cornerback spot he held before being a healthy scratch against the Jets. On Thursday, that role went to rookie/core special teamer Marcellas Dial Jr.
The Patriots will be back on the practice fields on Monday for the first of four sessions this week. They will release their first injury report leading up to their game in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon.