Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots suffered multiple injuries during their win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and as a consequence had to make several adjustments on the fly.
The most notable happened along the offensive line, where both left tackle Will Campbell and left guard Jared Wilson were unable to finish the game. The former went down in the third quarter with what was later diagnosed as a sprained MCL, while the latter lasted only three snaps before suffering a high ankle sprain.
With them out, Vederian Lowe and Ben Brown were pushed into action. The former replaced Campbell for the final 28 snaps of the game, seeing his most extensive action since losing his starting job over the offseason. Brown, meanwhile, was on the field for 68 of 71 snaps (96%) — the second time he had to take over for Wilson this year after the third-round rookie already had to sit out Week 4 with another ankle ailment.
Also unable to finish Sunday’s game were defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga and safety/special teamer Brenden Schooler. Tonga playing just 12 defensive snaps (18%) led to increased playing time for the likes of Cory Durden (36; 55%), Eric Gregory (18; 28%), and in particular practice squad elevation Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (20; 31%). All three set a new season high in snaps against Cincinnati.
Schooler suffering an ankle injury in the early second quarter, meanwhile, forced a shuffling of special teams personnel. Alex Austin (20; 71%), Dell Pettus (20; 71%) and Marte Mapu (17; 61%) were all part of this process.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 26-20 win at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium.
Total snaps: 71 | Time on the field: 32:14 | *denotes starter
QB Drake Maye* (71; 100%), C Garrett Bradbury* (71; 100%), RG Mike Onwenu* (71; 100%), LG Ben Brown (68; 96%), RT Morgan Moses* (64; 90%), WR Mack Hollins* (61; 86%), WR Kayshon Boutte* (57; 80%), TE Hunter Henry* (56; 79%), RB TreVeyon Henderson* (46; 65%), LT Will Campbell* (43; 61%), TE Austin Hooper (40; 56%), WR Stefon Diggs* (34; 48%), LT/TE Vederian Lowe (30; 42%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (22; 31%), FB/TE Jack Westover (17; 24%), WR DeMario Douglas (12; 17%), RT Marcus Bryant (7; 10%), WR Kyle Williams (5; 7%), RB Terrell Jennings (3; 4%), LG Jared Wilson* (3; 4%)
Before seeing two starters depart permanently and another temporarily — right tackle Morgan Moses, who was replaced by rookie Marcus Bryant for seven snaps — they also saw three core players return from previous injuries. Rhamondre Stevenson was back from a three-game absence due to a toe injury. For the first time this season, however, he did not draw the start and ended up out-snapped and out-produced by teammate TreVeyon Henderson.
Kayshon Boutte, for comparison, was a bit more active in his return from a hamstring injury that had sidelined him for two contests. He played his usual high number of snaps as a perimeter option, and caught two passes...
