By Matthew Kelly
Week 3 in the NFL brought the third week of football in New England without star quarterback Tom Brady, with the team at home facing the Houston Texans this past Thursday night. With Brady serving a four game suspension for his alleged involvement in the Deflategate scandal and backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo injuring his shoulder against Miami in Week 2, rookie Jacoby Brissett had to lead the Patriots offense on Thursday.
Despite having less than four days of preparation and also having never played a single down in the NFL, Brissett orchestrated a dominant performance over J.J. Watt and the Texans defense as New England blanked Houston 27 – 0. Brissett threw for 103 yards while also rushing for 48 yards and a touchdown. As impressive as these numbers are, Brissett’s performance becomes even more remarkable after it was revealed over the weekend that the rookie suffered a torn ligament in his thumb during the game.
The Patriots find themselves in a precarious situation: all three quarterbacks on their roster are either ineligible or injured, which means their current quarterback is . . . Julian Edelman? The veteran wide receiver, who started at quarterback for three seasons at Kent State University, is now being seriously considered to see a few snaps under center next week against the Buffalo Bills. Though Edelman has only started at wide receiver during his time in New England, he might not be a bad fit at quarterback. His only pass thrown in the NFL resulted in a 51-yard touchdown during the 2015 AFC divisional playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens. Bill Belichick and the rest of New England’s coaching staff are hoping that Garopollo and Brissett can recover from their respective injuries in time for the game against Buffalo next week, but if not, Edelman may be the man calling the shots.
On top of the revolving door situation at quarterback, the Patriots have also been understaffed elsewhere on the field. Injuries have sidelined middle linebacker Dont’a Hightower and defensive end Trey Flowers on the defensive side of the ball, while veteran pro-bowl defensive end Rob Ninkovich has been suspended for the first four games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. In addition, tight end Rob Gronkowski sat out the first two games of the season with a hamstring injury and saw limited playing time against Houston.
Despite these injuries and more, Bill Belichick has navigated New England to a 3 – 0 start, which many believed to be nearly impossible given the numerous obstacles facing the team. Also, taking the difficulty of the Patriot’s schedule into consideration, this team continues to make fans, opponents and NFL pundits alike look foolish forever doubting them. Looking to push past the Buffalo Bills next weekend, the Patriots will welcome back Tom Brady for Week 5 at home against the Browns.
