New England Patriots: Grading Position Groups Bills’ Game

Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive Line

Grade: D

The Patriots offensive line has dealt with the most injuries of any other position on the team this season. A few key players returned from injuries this week, but the line struggled more than ever before.

To start, the returning Marcus Cannon was terrible. He was called for multiple penalties that negated big plays, he was thrown onto his seat by many defenders, and he did not do a good job keeping Brady upright. There’s no reason Cannon should be at LT with Sebastian Vollmer back, as Vollmer was better than Cannon at LT, the most important offensive line position.

The interior line, although they were nearly at full strength, struggled as well. David Andrews got the start over Bryan Stork, but early on, Andrews was benched in favor of last season’s starter after struggling early on. Kline missed a few blocks in the run game, and Mason was pushed back by lineman too often. Tre’ Jackson is still out with a knee injury, but he had been relegated to a backup role recently anyways.

Sebastian Vollmer was the team’s best lineman, as usual, but even he wasn’t great in his first game back from a concussion.

The Bills feature one of the top defensive lines in football, but they still only rushed four for most of the night. Brady had to throw nine balls away because of pressure, which is unacceptable. The offensive line really needs to find itself in the next weeks with a formidable Denver defense coming up.

Next: Defensive Line