Patriots vs. Browns injury analysis: New England appears to have suffered no major injuries

The New England Patriots have a lot to feel good about following their 45-7 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 10. Not only did they improve to 6-4 on the year by blowing out another AFC playoff hopeful, they also moved up a spot in the conference’s postseason picture and are now the sixth seed.

Furthermore, New England left the game with only a handful of injuries suffered by its players. With that said, let’s take a closer look at who got hurt, and what it might mean in the grand scheme of things.

Injury analysis

CB Jalen Mills: Just four plays into the game, Mills remained on the ground after a tackle on a 10-yard run. When he stood back up, he was holding his left hand but jogged off the field without any assistance needed. Mills was officially announced as questionable to return due to an arm injury, but he eventually was back in the lineup a short time later. He ended up playing 40 of a possible 59 defensive snaps.

P Jake Bailey: Bailey is not only the Patriots’ punter but also serving as the team’s kickoff specialist. Seeing him on the sideline for two kickoffs in the second quarter was therefore curious. Nick Folk handled those, with Bailey only returning later in the quarter. No injury was announced, however, and the All-Pro did not appear to be limited in any way for the rest of the game.

QB Mac Jones: When New England’s starting quarterback left the game in the fourth quarter, he did so because of the score rather than an injury. However, Jones appeared to have hurt his left forearm at one point: he was visibly bleeding. However, given his final stat-line — Jones went 19-for-23 as a passer for 198 yards and 3 touchdowns — it appears as if the gash did not hinder him in any way.

LB Josh Uche: The second-year linebacker was on the field until late in the game, but he came up limping a bit after the Browns’ final punt inside the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. With the game almost over no injury was announced, and he did not receive any obvious treatment.

What this means for the Patriots

The only two injuries worth mentioning from Sunday’s are those suffered by Jalen Mills and Josh Uche. While Mills’ did not stop him from returning to the game, Uche’s falls in a different category: there was simply no game left for him to return to. Still, neither injury appeared to be of the major variety when it happened.

With a quick turnaround coming up ahead of Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, however, New England will keep a close eye on both and not put too much pressure on them. The team will hold its first practice of the week on Tuesday, and we should know more about their respective statuses at that point.