FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A brutal point on the schedule took one turn for the better on Sunday as the New England Patriots pulled out the win, 26-19, over their AFC East rival New York Jets.
And several for the worse, as the Patriots continued to be absolutely decimated on the injury front.
Clearly, there has to be concern as New England, which faces a quick turnaround to Thursday night in Chicago against the Bears.
Campbell guts it out
“We ended up getting a win, which is always a positive,” said left tackle Will Campbell, who went on to talk about the massive injury hit. “As bad as it is, and as unfortunate as it is, that’s just the way this game goes. I’ll be good to go Thursday night.”
Campbell is one of the few, at least on the offensive line.
The Patriots lost starting right tackle Morgan Moses with an ankle, right guard Ben Brown with a knee and left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker with a hamstring.
Eric Canha-Imagn Images
That goes with Campbell playing on a tender MCL and center Jared Wilson limping around on the field in the fourth quarter.
The replacements hang tough
Rookie Caleb Lomu stepped in for Moses at the right tackle.
The final two men on the active roster, Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse, stepped in at guard.
And the Patriots held it together, especially on the game-clinching fourth-quarter field goal drive of 51 yards on 13 plays that chewed up over six minutes and resulted in Andy Borregales’ field goal to ice it.
“I think that’s just those guys were ready for their opportunity, and it was great to see. You never know what’s going to happen in this league, and we talk about it all the time, preparing for the journey,” said coach Mike Vrabel. “When guys get their chance, they go in there and perform. I hate that we don’t have the guys. I hate when guys get injured, but I also understand that on the other side of that, there’s an opportunity.”
More than just the line
Two other key injuries were sustained in the win as receiver Romeo Doubs caught a 42-yard TD pass and left with a shoulder problem in the first quarter.
Edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones also exited early with an issue.
