The Patriots are preparing to host their first home playoff game in six seasons when they welcome the Chargers to Gillette Stadium, and New England's roster is in relatively good shape for Sunday night.
On Friday, New England ruled out NT Khyiris Tonga (foot) and listed WR Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) OLB Harold Landry III (knee), and OT Thayer Munford Jr. (knee) as questionable for Sunday night's Wild Card matchup. Although being down their run-stuffing nose tackle is notable, Tonga is the lone Patriot on the active roster who doesn't have a chance to play on Sunday night. Given that we're heading into the 19th week of the season, that's encouraging.
That said, Tonga's absence will be felt on both sides of the ball, as it has been since he suffered his foot injury in a Week 16 win over the Ravens. The big nose tackle hasn't played since exiting the win in Baltimore after having significant roles on the interior defensive line and as a short-yardage blocker in jumbo packages offensively. Without Tonga in recent weeks, the Patriots have relied on defensive tackles Christian Barmore, Cory Durden, Eric Gregory, and practice-squad elevations Jeremiah Pharms Jr. and Leonard Taylor III, while standout DT Milton Williams returned from injured reserve in Week 18.
Williams played 26 snaps in his first game action since suffering a high-ankle sprain in a Week 11 win over the Jets. In those 26 plays, Williams logged a tackle for loss against the run and one quarterback pressure, while helping free up Barmore for a 1-on-1 rush on a second-quarter sack. Williams' return gave the Patriots defense a huge boost, as he is an impact player who can shed blocks and make plays in the backfield.
On Sunday night, the hope is that the defense will get a similar bump from the returns of captains Robert Spillane and Harold Landry III. Spillane's last snaps came before New England's bye week in a Week 13 win over the Giants. Since then, the starting linebacker has been sidelined due to an ankle injury. Spillane won't carry an injury designation into Sunday's night's game, meaning he is expected to play. Earlier this week, Spillane spoke about his potential return, adding that returning for the playoffs was his goal.
"Yes sir," Spillane replied when asked if he'll be ready to play on Sunday night. "It was always a goal to be ready for Week 1 of the playoffs. It means everything to be out there. Obviously, you want to be a factor in these games. So that's the major goal this week: get healthy, be a good teammate, do whatever I can to be out there Sunday."
During his multi-week absence, LB Jack Gibbens stepped into Spillane's role as the Patriots starting MIKE linebacker. Gibbens made the most of the opportunity, flashing impressive instincts in coverage while also logging five run stuffs. However, Spillane still leads the Patriots with 18 run stuffs despite playing in only 13 games. The captain is by far the team's best run-stopping linebacker and is the primary signal-caller on the field.
Along those same lines, the team hopes a few weeks of rest will do edge rusher Harold Landry III some good, after the captain sat out the final two games of the regular season. Landry has been managing a knee injury that dates back to a scare in a Week 6 win over the Saints. After playing through the injury for several weeks, the Patriots decided to shut Landry down after clinching a playoff berth. Before the injury, Landry had a 2.7% sack rate and pressured opposing quarterbacks on 10.7% of his pass rushes. Since the injury, Landry has been registering a sack on 1.8% of his rushes with a 7.3% pressure rate. If the rest does wonders for Landry, his playoff performance could be closer to the player he was to start the season.
With a trio of starters returning to the lineup, the Patriots defense should improve. They already got impact plays from Williams in his return, and now Landry and Spillane are expected to return. In particular, the hope is that the run defense returns to form. In the first 10 weeks, New England's defense was fourth in rush EPA allowed. Without some of their top defenders down the stretch, the Patriots defense finished their last six games ranked 21st in rush EPA. Hopefully, getting the defense back to mostly full strength allows New England to exploit a weakness in the Chargers along their offensive line.
Offensively, WR Kayshon Boutte popped up on the injury report with a hamstring injury this week. After practicing in full on Wednesday, Boutte was limited in the last two sessions and is officially questionable. The Patriots are already thin at wide receiver without veteran Mack Hollins, who is on injured reserve. New England's fully healthy wideouts are Stefon Diggs, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas, and Efton Chism III. Hopefully, Boutte, who has been a productive outside deep threat, will be able to suit up on Sunday night, which seems to be the plan barring anything unforeseen.
The Patriots also have some unknowns along the offensive line heading into Sunday night due to injury and illness. During the week, starting RT Morgan Moses and C Garrett Bradbury both missed practices due to illness. The expectation is that both will play, but New England is still unsure about the status of third tackle Thayer Munford Jr., who missed Thursday's practice due to his knee injury.
Munford Jr., who has played the jumbo tight end role for the Patriots over the last several weeks. In their last four games, New England has played 56 snaps with six offensive linemen on the field, third-most in the NFL, and Munford has been the primary extra offensive lineman. In those six O-Line packages, the Patriots are averaging 8.3 yards per play with 11 explosive plays, so one would expect that OC Josh McDaniels would like to have the jumbo package at his disposal in the postseason.
If he can't go, backup tackle Vederian Lowe, who has also been battling an illness, could be the sixth offensive lineman this week. New England could also turn to top backup Ben Brown in that role. Either way, the jumbo tight end has been an important role in the Patriots offense over the last month, so Munford being questionable to play isn't an insignificant injury.
At left guard, head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed that rookie Jared Wilson will start on Sunday night. On Friday, Wilson shed his red non-contact jersey at practice, indicating that Wilson cleared concussion protocol. Wilson has started all 13 games he's been healthy in this season and Vrabel told reporters on Friday that the rookie will get the start now that he has cleared concussion protocol after some discussion about sticking with Brown.
As for Los Angeles, the big injury question for the Chargers is the status of rookie RB Omarion Hampton (ankle). Hampton returned to practice in a limited capacity on Friday and is officially questionable for Sunday night due to his ankle injury. The first-round rookie is Los Angeles's lead-back when healthy, but has battled injuries in his first season. Hampton told reporters in Los Angeles that he plans to play on Sunday, but the Chargers will likely lean on RB Kimani Vidal if the talented rookie is out.
Along with hosting their first home playoff game since 2019, New England is aiming to check another box in Mike Vrabel's to-do list when he took over as head coach in January. Vrabel's goals were to win the AFC East, host home playoff games, and compete for championships. In his first season as head coach, the Patriots won the division and will host a home playoff game, so next up on the checklist is winning playoff games, adding extra validity to the Patriots terrific 14-3 regular season.
The Patriots host the Los Angeles Chargers with kickoff at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday night.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
