Sunday’s Patriots win over the Bengals, it turns out, was a bit of a bloodbath for the team, or at least, it was an ink-bath for those who print up the injury reports. The headline is No. 4 pick Will Campbell, who has steadily come into his own as the season has progressed, serving as the top protector of Drake Maye‘s blind side at left tackle.
But there were more bodies headed to the trainer’s table than just that of Campbell. The Patriots also lost fellow rookie lineman Jared Wilson, who had been improving each week, too. Veteran right tackle Morgan Moses left the game, too, though that was an illness and he returned.
Less publicized has been the chest injury suffered by defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga, which limited him to just 12 snaps on Sunday. Tonga tried to go back into the game, but ultimately had to be pulled. It was a costly injury on multiple fronts, and though the impact is not the same as losing Campbell or Wilson, not having Tonga on hand hurt.
Khyiris Tonga ‘Is Never Gonna Let Anybody Down’
Give Tonga, whose stop with the Patriots marks his fourth team in five NFL seasons, credit. He tried to go back in. But coach Mike Vrabel said that the team had to make the decision to keep him out in Week 12, and Vrabel smiled when told that Tonga said after the game he felt he let his teammates down.
“Tonga is never gonna let anybody down as long as he is here,” Vrabel said , shaking his head. “And these guys want to go. I have to look at them and I have to figure out if they can. If they can protect themselves and they can do their jobs and not make anything worse—and he clearly, from what I saw, wasn’t going to be able to do most of those things. We’ll see how he progresses through the week.”
Patriots Already Down Milton Williams
The Patriots will play against the Giants on Monday night, their final game before the bye week, and the benefit of that should be an extra day of rest for a team that clearly needs it. There’s not telling how serious Tonga’s injury is, but having another day to get him healthy will help.
Tonga is, of course, primarily a defensive lineman and has certainly found a home with the Patriots. He is even more important in that role with defensive lineman Milton Williams on the IR because of an ankle sprain.
Khyiris Tonga Missed in Patriots’ Goal-Line Plays
But the Patriots also missed him as a fullback on the offensive side, a role he has been honing as the season has gone on. At 335 pounds, he is an imposing presence as a blocker–and one the Patriots could have used on the two second-half drives the offense had that landed with first-and-goals inside the 5, but resulted in just three points.
Tonga could have likely moved a pile into the end zone in both cases. With or without him, Vrabel said, the Patriots need to do better.
“There was more that we all could have done. You get into, the ball is inside the 5-yard line, you have to figure out if you’re gonna go big people and big personnel, and we were out of that,” Vrabel said.
“You get into some other personnels and either you can’t block them all or you’ve got reach somebody and make decisions down there. It seems like we were really close down there. … But you have to be at your best down there. They are. They’re blitzing, they’re going to try to put some pressure on you and make you make some tough decisions. So we all have to be better down there.”
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