The New England Patriots kept their undefeated road record (5-0) alive in Week 10 with a 28-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although the Patriots won the game, they did it by using their roster depth after the injuries started piling up in this game.
In the first quarter, newly signed practice squad call up running back Terrell Jennings handled more of the work than TreVeyon Henderson by having four carries in the quarter. Although Henderson was on the field for the first play of the game, Jennings had the first running play of the game for the Patriots.
After the first quarter, however, Jennings entered the blue medical tent and went from "questionable to return" to "out" by the end of halftime. The team later announced that it was a knee injury that knocked him out of the game.
The running back position was already thin for New England with starter Rhamondre Stevenson out for the second straight game. Without Jennings, it left only veteran D’Ernest Johnson, who they called up from the practice squad, as the only available option behind Henderson.
The Patriots Overcame An Injury-Heavy Third Quarter
In the third quarter, cornerback Marcus Jones was hurt on a punt return. He muffed the punt and was hit during his effort to recover the ball. When Jones eventually got up, he went directly to the medical tent.
It didn’t take long for Jones to return, but shortly after he did, defensive tackle Christian Barmore went down with an injury. It led to head coach Mike Vrabel coming onto the field to check on his player, taking a knee and holding Barmore’s hand while he was being attended to by medical staff. The Patriots later shared that Barmore had a back injury, but he was able to return to the game and help the team finish strong.
Also in the third quarter, safety Jaylinn Hawkins landed hard on the turf while defending a potential touchdown pass. He lay on his back while being attended to by trainers. Vrabel also ran over to check on him. Hawkins ran off the field for a while before returning to the game.
In the fourth quarter, linebacker Marte Mapu was blindsided on a pick play by wide receiver Sterling Shepard. Mapu was shaken up after the hit, but he was able to get back on the field by the end of the game.
The Patriots were able to survive in this game by using the little depth that they have. In doing so, we saw Jack Gibbens start at linebacker with Christian Elliss ruled out for Week 10, which also allowed for Anfernee Jennings to get in on more plays than usual. Dell Pettus played for Hawkins while he was out and there’s a rotation system already in place for the defensive line with Joshua Farmer and Cory Durden.
It’s worth mentioning that the Patriots traded two defensive depth pieces with safety Kyle Dugger and defensive end Keion White without replacing them. Now, less than a week after the trade deadline when the Patriots elected not to add to their roster, their depth was heavily tested in Week 10, and although it worked this week, it raises the concern of how sustainable it’ll be moving forward.