The New England Patriots’ game against the Indianapolis Colts ended in disappointment. Their seven-game winning streak coming to an end thanks to the 27-17 loss was not the only reason for that, though: the Patriots also saw multiple players go down due to injury.
With that said, let’s take a closer look at that game to find out who was dinged up and what it might mean in the grand scheme of things.
Injury analysis
LB Ja’Whaun Bentley: After being on the field for the Patriots’ first 11 defensive snaps of the day and not suffering any obvious injury, Bentley had to leave for the medical tent and later the locker room. While he at least returned to the sideline at one point, making a second trip to the tent, he never reentered the game. New England officially declared him questionable to return due to a left ankle injury.
WR Nelson Agholor: Agholor’s fourth reception of the day turned out to be his last. The first-year Patriot was hit hard on a 10-yard catch in the third quarter and went to the ground, immediately taking off his helmet and walking off the field after getting back up. He left for the locker room with the team’s medical staff and was first declared questionable due to a head injury, and later ruled out.
DT Carl Davis: The big-bodied nose tackle remained down on the ground after assisting in taking down Colts running back Jonathan Taylor in the fourth quarter. No official injury was announced by the team, but Davis did walk off the field under his own power. However, he did not return to the game down the stretch.
WR N’Keal Harry: With Nelson Agholor out, Harry was given a bigger role in the offense. He ended the game with two receptions on five targets — the last of those targets saw him get injured on a collision late in the fourth quarter. Teammate Brandon Bolden helped the former first-round pick off the field and he missed the Patriots’ final three offensive snaps.
What this means for the Patriots
While the injury suffered by Carl Davis does not appear to be overly serious — Davis was on the field for postgame handshakes — the other three are question marks heading into a crucial game with the Buffalo Bills next Sunday. The Patriots will have one more day to get ready thanks to their Saturday slot versus the Colts, but they likely need every one of them.
After all, Ja’Whaun Bentley and Nelson Agholor are starter-level players whose availability for next week is in question: Bentley did not suffer an obvious injury, as noted above, but he was still unable to finish the game. Agholor, meanwhile, will likely enter concussion protocol and is no lock to be cleared for the game in Buffalo.
N’Keal Harry, meanwhile, was the next man up with Agholor out. No injury was announced and he did try to walk it off on the sideline after the collision, but his status is also uncertain after he did not return to the contest.
The Patriots will release their first injury report of Week 16 on Wednesday, and it will give us more information about the players in question and any undetected injuries that might have occurred during the game.
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