Tag: Mike Onwenu

The morning after: Marcus Jones was the hero Patriots needed

The Patriots improved to third in the AFC East with a huge win over the Jets.

The New England Patriots surprised the New York Jets with a 10-3 victory on Sunday, thanks to Marcus Jones’ 84 yard punt return for a touchdown, which left only five seconds on the clock.

It was the only touchdown scored on a day when defense was mostly the story. Matthew Judon continued his seismic start to the season so far, and the Jets were held in check with just 103 total yards on offense.

The Patriots improved to 6-4 on the season and swept a division rival in the process. Not only did the victory elevate them in the AFC East standings, but it also improved their overall standing in the NFL playoff picture.

Here are some leftover notes from the game.

The Morning After: Youth injects life into the Patriots’ season

Patriots’ rookies instilling hope in the team, despite a second straight loss

The New England Patriots fell to the Green Bay Packers 27-24 in overtime at Lambeau field. It was a surprisingly close game without QBs Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer, who left early in the first half with a head injury.

Bailey Zappe took over for the Patriots in his first ever live game action and threw 10 completions for 99 yards and a touchdown. It was a conservative game for sure, but Zappe managed to keep the game close and play mistake-free football.

There were some situations where Zappe’s decision-making or awareness wasn’t on point, but that is due to lack of experience more than anything. Jones went to Alabama and played against some of the best players in the world before he even stepped into the NFL.

Zappe played lower FBS competition and was thrown into a game on primetime at Lambeau field against a future Hall of Fame QB in Aaron Rodgers. He may not have won the game, but he didn’t lose it, either.

Winners and losers in Patriots road win over the Steelers

There are more winners than losers this week for the Patriots

A gutsy road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers was the New England Patriots’ response for laying an egg in the season-opener against the Miami Dolphins at South Beach.

And they should be proud of it.

Yes, the Steelers have all sorts of problems happening on the offensive side of the ball, and the defense was playing without star pass-rusher T.J. Watt. But Pittsburgh’s defense is still clearly an elite unit coming off a game where they forced Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow into five turnovers.

Being able to go on the road and beat a well-coached team like the Steelers in a hostile environment is an impressive feat regardless.

Seeing as this is the Patriots’ first win of the season, we’re going to do something different this week and not name any losers. It was a team-earned victory, and they’ll need to be even better when hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3.

Here are the winners from Sunday’s game against the Steelers.

Report: Patriots place LT Isaiah Wynn, LG Mike Onwenu on COVID-19 list

That’s two starting offensive linemen.

The New England Patriots have placed left tackle Isaiah Wynn and left guard Michael Onewenu, two of their starting offensive linemen on the COVID-19/reserve list, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. If the two

New England has also been without right tackle Trent Brown for most of the season due to a calf injury.

The Patriots offense line has struggled in a big way, allowing 12 quarterback hits on rookie Mac Jones in Week 4. Onwenu appeared to get benched after committing two holding penalties. He played just 56% of snaps, with Ted Karras taking over. The Patriots have tried out multiple different offensive line at the right tackle spot with little avial.

If Wynn and Onwenu were to miss Week 5 against the Houston Texans, their absence would make an ugly season uglier for the offensive line.

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