Everything has come up New England Patriots so far this season. But the road ahead is about to get tougher for Mike Vrabel’s club.
The Patriots — who are now 10-2 after a 26-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium — have benefited from good injury luck, quarterback Drake Maye playing like an MVP candidate and a historically easy schedule to stake their claim as the NFL’s best team through 12 weeks.
That injury luck appeared to run out Sunday, however. Rookie left tackle Will Campbell, rookie offensive guard Jared Wilson, special teams ace Brenden Schooler and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga all suffered injuries in Cincinnati, and only Tonga was able to return to the game. Veteran right tackle Morgan Moses also briefly exited with an illness before eventually returning to action.
Campbell’s injury obviously is the most concerning, as the 2025 first-round pick has been rock-solid at left tackle all season. Bigger-picture, Sunday’s injuries represent the first serious adversity this team has faced this fall, Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran noted on Patriots Postgame Live.
“Adversity has intervened on the Patriots’ season,” Curran said. “We’ve seen a game now that they underachieved in. They escaped because they were handed a touchdown by Joe Flacco (on a Marcus Jones pick-6), and they were also kind of handed a touchdown on a breakdown on their first score (a Drake Maye pass to Hunter Henry).
“So to me, we’re looking at a Patriots team that, because of this spate of injuries that occurred today — especially to key players on the offensive line — they’re going to be confronting some adversity. I continue to think that these late byes and working from late July until the end of November, sometimes it becomes a matter of time.”
The Patriots’ bye week isn’t until Week 14 this season (the latest bye in the NFL) as they’ll host the New York Giants next Monday night before finally getting a break. And while they’ve enjoyed impressive continuity along the offensive line — they’ve rolled with essentially the same starting unit of Campbell, Wilson, center Garrett Bradbury, right guard Mike Onwenu and Moses all season — they may need to piece things together down the stretch depending on the severity of Campbell and Wilson’s injuries.
Even Vrabel seemed mildly annoyed by all the talk surrounding his team’s good injury luck to date when asked about his players’ ailments after Sunday’s game.
“I don’t have an update on anybody right now, unfortunately. I appreciate you guys all talking about the injuries this week, so thanks,” Vrabel said sarcastically.
The Patriots deserve credit for pulling out a win Sunday despite not being on their A-game, and their record speaks for itself. Now, they’ll need to prove they can handle the inevitable adversity that comes with late-season injuries.
