The New England Patriots’ return to the win column on Sunday was an impressive one. Going against a Carolina Panthers team they shared identical 1-2 records with, the Patriots put forward a dominant effort en route to a 42-13 victory.
There was a lot to like from the game, but the win might have come at a cost: starting safety Jaylinn Hawkins was unable to finish the contest after suffering an injury in the second quarter. Let’s assess the damage after re-watching the game.
Patriots injury analysis: Week 4
CB Charles Woods: Being on the field for punt returner Marcus Jones’ 87-yard touchdown in the first quarter, Woods fell victim to some friendly fire from teammate Milton Williams. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback collided with the 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle, who later admitted he was “trying to get the punter. I was tired, I was just hitting somebody.” Woods remained down for a bit but was back on the field for the next punt, and even ended the game playing a career-high 21 defensive snaps.
CB Carlton Davis III: The Patriots’ CB2 remained down after being around the ball and coming down hard on a near-interception by Craig Woodson in the early second quarter. He walked off the field under his own power with members of the training staff by his side and headed into the blue medical tent for a checkup, but returned to the sideline shortly thereafter. Davis was back on the field at the next possible opportunity without having missed any defensive snaps.
RB Antonio Gibson: With 21 seconds left in the first half and the offense backed up at its own 4-yard line, Gibson took a handoff, was quickly met by linebacker Trevin Wallace, and afterwards left the field for the medical tent. He was seen limping a bit, but only ended up missing one offensive snap. The opening kickoff of the second half already saw him take his typical spot as one of New England’s returners.
S Jaylinn Hawkins: Starting safety Jaylinn Hawkins was announced as questionable to return to the game with a hamstring injury in the early fourth quarter, but by that time had already been missing the last two defensive drives. What had happened? On the first play of Carolina’s last extended possession of the first half — with 1:50 to go in Quarter 2 — he came up limping after quickly transitioning from a back-pedal to a forward sprint on a run play. Hawkins did remain in for the rest of that six-play series and also took the field for the potential Hail Mary with 2 seconds remaining in the half, but showed signs of discomfort along the way and seemingly favored his left leg. He did not return to the field after intermission.
What this means for the Patriots
The big name out of the four banged-up players is Jaylinn Hawkins. One of the Patriots’ starting safeties and somebody who had been on the field for 173 of 174 defensive snaps over the first three weeks of the season, he is a crucial part of New England’s operation on that side of the ball.
While the team does have an experienced backup to take his place — Kyle Dugger finished Sunday’s contest with the top unit and looked solid doing so — removing Hawkins creates a level of uncertainty in the secondary. He is a glue guy in terms of communication while his presence as more of a deep-field defender allows rookie Craig Woodson to be used more to his strength as either a two-high or box safety type.
All of that becomes even more important with a matchup against the NFL’s second-ranked scoring offense, the 4-0 Buffalo Bills, on the horizon. Hawkins missing that Sunday night matchup or even just being limited would be a definitive blow to the Patriots’ ability to slow down Josh Allen and company.
Of course, time will tell how significant the injury turns out to be. Maybe the team just decided to play it safe after taking a 35-6 lead in the early third quarter; Hawkins being labeled questionable and never officially ruled out points in that direction being a possibility.
We will get our answers on Wednesday, when the Patriots are set to return to practice and release the first injury report of the week.
They will visit the Bills on Sunday, Oct. 5 for a 8:20 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.
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