The New England Patriots hosted the Buffalo Bills in Week 15 with the opportunity to win the AFC East division for the first time since 2019, a team goal set by Mike Vrabel when he became the new head coach this season. But they went on to lose this game, 35-31. It is their first loss since September.
Although the Patriots didn't win this game, they can still clinch the AFC East. New England was forced to play without their top linebacker, tackle-leader, and captain of the defense, Robert Spillane, which undoubtedly had an impact on the Patriots' defense. He was listed as active for this game after managing a foot injury coming off the bye week, but Spillane didn’t end up playing in the contest.
As a result, it was backup linebacker Jack Gibbens who not only got the starting nod, but he also wore the Green Dot for the defense. He finished with the third-most tackles (9), he had a sack, and had the most tackles for loss (2) on the team.
Gibbens was all over the field in this game. Among his many plays, he forced a fourth down in the beginning of the fourth quarter by tackling running back Ty Johnson on the sideline. He was also one of three players to play 100% of the defensive snaps in Week 15, with 70, Jaylinn Hawkins, and Christian Gonzalez. Technically, Gibbens recorded 89 total snaps if you factor in the 19 he had on special teams, which was the most on the team and in the entire game by a sizable margin.
For what it’s worth, Gibbens has been a reliable and consistent linebacker for the defense, but he’s also a core player on special teams. He’s also played for Christian Elliss and Harold Landry along the defense throughout the season. He’s shown his versatility this season, and the Patriots can benefit from it.
Patriots LB Jack Gibbens More Than Capable of Stepping Up
With Spillane being in a walking boot and not with the team for practice on Wednesday, he was trending towards not being available for the second straight week coming off the bye week. During his press conference on Friday afternoon, Vrabel said that Spillane will not be active this week against the Baltimore Ravens.
Vrabel also noted that Landry is questionable for the game, which could add more to Gibbens’ plate if Landry is unable to play this week against Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
That said, it’s going to be Gibbens who gets both the starting nod and the Green Dot duties for the defense. He has 61 tackles (six for loss), two pass deflections, and one sack on the season with five starts in 14 games. Gibbens has led the Patriots in tackles twice this season: Week 4 (12), Week 10 (10).
Putting together another effort like those would go a long way towards helping New England get an important win, while also laying the groundwork for Gibbens to return to the Patriots in 2026.