New England Patriots: 3 interesting storylines to watch Week 2

New England Patriots storyline No. 1: Will Trent Brown be forced to miss time?

It wasn’t given as much attention as it deserved during the game, but Trent Brown’s injury was a huge loss for the Patriots against the Dolphins. It was tough to pinpoint when exactly it happened, but Brown suffered a calf injury early on in this one, and was subsequently pulled and didn’t end up returning for the remainder of the game.

The Pats turned to second year tackle Justin Herron, who couldn’t seem to get anything going. New England had no success on runs to the right side, and Herron was eventually replaced by Yasir Durant, who was recently picked up from the Kansas City Chiefs towards the end of training camp. Durant fared a bit better, but it’s clear Brown’s presence was missed.

It was telling that Harris’ best run of the day came on the first play of the game when Brown opened up a hole for him. Brown departed shortly after that, and the ground game never really found their groove afterwards.

Brown’s status is the most important storyline to keep an eye on this week. The giant tackle is a huge part of the offensive line’s success, and his presence was sorely missed. The good news is, Brown’s injury is considered day-to-day, and there’s optimism he will be able to suit up on Sunday.

If Brown is unable to go, it will be interesting to see who is brought in to replace him. The most logical option would have been to slide Michael Onwenu over to right tackle and insert backup center Ted Karras as the new left guard, but that didn’t happen. If this doesn’t happen, it seems like Durant would get the nod over Herron considering how both players performed in Week 1.

There are many ways this could go, but the hope here is that Brown is healthy enough to suit up against the Jets. Brown’s presence on the line could have been the difference between winning or losing this past Sunday, and the Patriots surely don’t want to have to be forced to play without him again. Brown’s importance to the offensive line was on full display in Week 1, and his injury status is the most important Patriots storyline to keep an eye on throughout this week.