After missing the previous four games with an ankle injury sustained in the season opener, A.J. Brown made his comeback on Sunday against the New York Jets. Despite the New England Patriots beating their division rivals, it was a disappointing return for the 29-year-old.
Brown caught just three passes for 27 yards, registered two drops (plus a third on an onside kick), and generally did not have the impact one would have hoped he would have. Still, it was not all bad. He did get open fairly regularly, and also managed to play a high number of snaps despite his one-month absence.
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When all was said and done, Brown had 52 of 68 snaps — the highest among all Patriots wide receivers. For head coach Mike Vrabel, the circumstances surrounding Romeo Doubs’ shoulder injury on the fifth offensive snap of the game played a role in that.
“We were down to four guys, so I mean, somebody’s got to play in there,” he said when asked about Brown’s workload on Monday. “We like to have our best players available as much as they can be.”
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 26-19 win.
Offense
Total snaps: 68 | Time on the field: 29:06 | * denotes starter
QB Drake Maye* (68; 100%), LT Will Campbell* (68; 100%), C Jared Wilson* (68; 100%), RT/TE Caleb Lomu (60; 88%), RG/LG Ben Brown* (54; 79%), WR A.J. Brown* (52; 76%), TE Hunter Henry* (52; 76%), RG Matt Pryor (46; 68%), WR Efton Chism III (42; 62%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (41; 60%), WR DeMario Douglas (40; 59%), TE Eli Raridon* (39; 57%), WR Kyle Williams (25; 37%), LG Alijah Vera-Tucker* (22; 32%), TE Cameron Latu* (18; 26%), RB TreVeyon Henderson (16; 24%), LG Walter Rouse (14; 21%), RB Corey Kiner (12; 18%), RT Morgan Moses* (9; 13%), WR Romeo Doubs (2; 3%)
Suffering respective knee and ankle injuries in Week 5 against the Jets, Will Campbell and TreVeyon Henderson were both questionable entering the Jets game. However, both showed no physical limitations. Whereas Campbell went wire-to-wire for all 68 snaps, Henderson played 16.
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Campbell’s availability in particular was crucial given that the Patriots needed all eight of the offensive linemen on their game day roster to play meaningful snaps. The reason for that is starters Alijah Vera-Tucker, Ben Brown and Morgan Moses all exiting the game due to injury at one point. In their place, Walter Rouse, Matt Pryor and Caleb Lomu took over at left guard, right guard and right tackle.
Elsewhere on the team, Lomu played one snap as an H-back in an unbalanced short-yardage look; youngsters Efton Chism and Eli Raridon continued to be heavily involved; Corey Kiner served as the close-it-out back in the fourth quarter.
Defense
Total snaps: 62 | Time on the field: 28:53 | * denotes starter
LB Robert Spillane* (62; 100%), LB Christian Elliss* (62; 100%), CB Christian Gonzalez* (62; 100%), S Kevin Byard III* (62; 100%), S Craig Woodson* (62; 100%), CB Marcus Jones* (60; 97%), ED Elijah Ponder* (48; 77%), DT Milton Williams* (46; 74%), ED Dre’Mont Jones* (45; 73%), CB Charles Woods* (40; 65%), ED Gabe Jacas (31; 50%), DT Cory Durden* (29; 47%), DT Christian Barmore (25; 40%), DT Joshua Farmer (14; 23%), DT DaQuan Jones (13; 21%), S Jaylen Reed (9; 15%), DT Leonard Taylor III (8; 13%), LB Darius Muasau (3; 5%), CB Kindle Vildor (1; 2%)
As opposed to the offense, the Patriots defense was relatively stable from a personnel perspective on Sunday. Five players were on the field for all 62 snaps, with cornerback Marcus Jones missing only two of them.
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Among the most notable developments from a usage perspective therefore is Charles Woods seeing a heavy workload as a replacement for starting cornerback Carlton Davis. With Davis again out due to a neck injury, Woods again served as the third cornerback. When he entered the field, he typically lined up on the perimeter with Marcus Jones kicking inside.
On the edge, Elijah Ponder, Dre’Mont Jones and Gabe Jacas all saw prominent snaps. It will be fascinating to see how their usage will be impacted by Harold Landry, who is still in the team’s plans for this season, coming back from the physically unable to perform list.
Elsewhere, Christian Barmore played a season-low 40% of snaps but nonetheless made an impact on an early sack; Jaylen Reed was brought onto the field for nine snaps as a do-it-all nickel defender; Christian Gonzalez played all 62 snaps after having missed the previous two games with a shoulder injury.
Special teams
Total snaps: 26 | Time on the field: 2:01
TE Cameron Latu (21; 81%), S Brenden Schooler (21; 81%), LB Namdi Obiazor (20; 77%), S/PP Mike Brown (20; 77%), S Jaylen Reed (18; 69%), S Elliott Davison (18; 69%), LB Darius Muasau (15; 58%), LB Erick Hunter (15; 58%), ED Elijah Ponder (12; 46%), RB/KR Corey Kiner (11; 42%), K Andy Borregales (11; 42%), DT Cory Durden (10; 38%), CB Kindle Vildor (8; 31%), DT Leonard Taylor III (7; 27%), ED Gabe Jacas (7; 27%), P/H Mitch Wishnowsky (7; 27%), LS Julian Ashby (7; 27%), WR/KR Kyle Williams (5; 19%), OT Caleb Lomu (5; 19%), OL Matt Pryor (5; 19%), OL Walter Rouse (5; 19%), DT Milton Williams (5; 19%), DT Christian Barmore (5; 19%), DT DaQuan Jones (5; 19%), OL Jared Wilson (4; 15%), OL Ben Brown (4; 15%), LB Christian Elliss (3; 12%), CB/PR Marcus Jones (3; 12%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (1; 4%), WR A.J. Brown (1; 4%), WR DeMario Douglas (1; 4%), TE Hunter Henry (1; 4%), TE Eli Raridon (1; 4%), OT Will Campbell (1; 4%), OL Alijah Vera-Tucker (1; 4%), LB Robert Spillane (1; 4%), S Kevin Byard III (1; 4%)
For a second week in a row, the Patriots’ hands team took the field against the Jets. Part of the group was the aforementioned A.J. Brown, who failed to reel in the kick but ultimately saw teammate Eli Raridon recover the ball to ice the game.
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As for the core personnel, six players lined up on the four return and coverage units: Cameron Latu, Brenden Schooler, Namdi Obiazor, Mike Brown, Darius Muasau and Erick Hunter. The latter again lined up as a gunner on the punt team, teaming up with Schooler.
Did not play
The Patriots needed to go deep against the Jets, but backup quarterback Tommy DeVito was not among the players he used. He remained sidelined for a third straight game.
Inactive
QB3 Behren Morton, TE Tanner Arkin, OT Dametrious Crownover, CB Carlton Davis III, CB Channing Canada, CB Karon Prunty
The Patriots entered Sunday with Carlton Davis (neck) and Karon Prunty (hamstring) ruled out due to injury, and fellow cornerback Channing Canada (hamstring) joining them on the inactives list. The three offensive players not dressing for the game were all healthy scratches, and currently mostly provide emergency depth.
