The New England Patriots offensive line has undergone multiple changes since the start of the season, and Sunday’s win over the Miami Dolphins saw the latest chapter in the ongoing story being written. After starting Walter Rouse at left guard, the Patriots made a switch at the half to insert Ben Brown into the lineup.
Brown finished the game at the position, and now seems like the frontrunner to remain in that role for the foreseeable future and until starter Alijah Vera-Tucker is cleared to return
from injured reserve. Rouse, meanwhile, appears to be headed back to the bench after starting two games in place of Vera-Tucker.
For head coach Mike Vrabel, the change came down to in-game momentum; Rouse had struggled in the first half, prompting the change to a more reliable Brown after two quarters.
“Ben’s worked really hard,” Vrabel said on Monday. “Coming in, he had worked through the knee injury – would have been Jacksonville, I think. He came back, had been working in practice, and we stuck with Walter and then wanted to take a look at Ben. We’ll see where that goes this week. Those guys play extremely hard. It’s never going to be perfect. I thought they both did some things well. I thought they both would have some plays that they would like to improve on.”
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 24-19 win.
Offense
Total snaps: 60 | Time on the field: 31:09 | * denotes starter
QB Drake Maye* (60; 100%), LT Will Campbell* (60; 100%), C Jared Wilson* (60; 100%), RG Matt Pryor* (60; 100%), RT Morgan Moses* (60; 100%), TE Eli Raridon* (55; 92%), WR Efton Chism III* (53; 88%), WR Kyle Williams* (50; 83%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (46; 77%), WR DeMario Douglas (39; 65%), LG Ben Brown (34; 57%), LG Walter Rouse* (26; 43%), TE Tanner Arkin* (16; 27%), RB Corey Kiner (11; 18%), TE Hunter Henry (8; 13%), TE Cameron Latu (7; 12%), RB Lan Larison (5; 8%), WR Ryan Miller (5; 8%), OT/TE Caleb Lomu (5; 8%)
Besides the Ben Brown/Walter Rouse combo at left guard, the Patriots offensive line went wire-to-wire on Sunday. That included Matt Pryor, who, while far from perfect either, seems to remain the right guard of choice until one of the higher-ups on the depth chart returns.
At wide receiver, the Patriots opted to leave DeMario Douglas in his role as a third slot receiver even with A.J. Brown on the inactives list. This meant that Efton Chism and Kyle Williams were the main options on the perimeter and in two-receiver sets. All three had their moments, with Douglas and Williams both catching long touchdowns to help New England pull away in the second half.
At tight end, the Patriots got Hunter Henry involved early but he departed with a foot injury in the early second quarter. In his place, rookie Eli Raridon played a career-high 92% of snaps. Tanner Arkin, a regular on the inactives list in recent weeks, also set a new career mark with a 27% playing time share.
Running back continued to be the Rhamondre Stevenson show, with Corey Kiner and recently-promoted Lan Larison only seeing spot duty.
Defense
Total snaps: 65 | Time on the field: 26:33 | * denotes starter
LB Robert Spillane* (65; 100%), LB Christian Elliss* (65; 100%), CB Christian Gonzalez* (65; 100%), S Kevin Byard III* (65; 100%), S Craig Woodson* (65; 100%), CB Carlton Davis III* (63; 97%), ED Elijah Ponder* (54; 83%), DT Milton Williams* (44; 68%), ED Dre’Mont Jones* (42; 65%), CB Marcus Jones (40; 62%), DT Christian Barmore* (36; 55%), DT Cory Durden* (26; 40%), DT DaQuan Jones (21; 32%), DT Leonard Taylor III (20; 31%), ED Gabe Jacas (19; 29%), S Jaylen Reed (13; 20%), DT Joshua Farmer (10; 15%), CB Charles Woods (2; 3%)
Coming off a three-game absence due to a neck injury, Carlton Davis returned to the lineup on Sunday and promptly played 63 of 65 defensive snaps — a positive sign even though he did show some rust in man-to-man coverage. The two snaps he wasn’t on the field for saw CB4 Charles Woods enter the field. On one of Woods’ snaps, he tripped and fell, allowing Miami’s Kevin Coleman Jr. to get open for a 35-yard touchdown.
Going against one of the most productive scramble quarterbacks in football, the Patriots opted to increase their use of three-safety packages. This meant that late-August trade acquisition Jaylen Reed saw an uptick in opportunities again, playing 20-plus% of snaps for the first time since Week 5 and fourth time overall this season.
Up front, Gabe Jacas’ knee injury in the early third quarter left New England thin on the edge. Elijah Ponder and Dre’Mont Jones, the latter of whom getting dinged up himself at one point, did not see a noticeable uptick in snaps. Instead, New England opted to use their big bodies on the interior to keep the rotation along the defensive line — both inside and outside — intact.
That included Christian Barmore, who has been the recent subject of trade speculation. Against Miami, there was no noteworthy change in his usage. He did return to the starting lineup after a four-game absence, however, and at 55% had his highest playing time share since Week 1. He also clearly out-snapped Cory Durden, who did have the most disruptive game of his career but continued to be used on a rotational basis like the other DTs.
Special teams
Total snaps: 26 | Time on the field: 2:18
TE Cameron Latu (22; 85%), S Brenden Schooler (21; 81%), LB Darius Muasau (20; 77%), LB Namdi Obiazor (20; 77%), S/PP Mike Brown (20; 77%), LB Erick Hunter (17; 65%), S Jaylen Reed (17; 65%), RB/KR Lan Larison (13; 50%), CB Charles Woods (13; 50%), CB Kindle Vildor (13; 50%), K Andy Borregales (10; 38%), P/H Mitch Wishnowsky (8; 31%), LS Julian Ashby (8; 31%), TE Tanner Arkin (7; 27%), DT Leonard Taylor III (7; 27%), ED Elijah Ponder (7; 27%), OT Caleb Lomu (5; 19%), OT Dametrious Crownover (5; 19%), OL Jared Wilson (5; 19%), OL Matt Pryor (5; 19%), OL Walter Rouse (5; 19%), ED Gabe Jacas (5; 19%), CB/PR Marcus Jones (5; 19%), RB/KR Corey Kiner (4; 15%), DT Milton Williams (4; 15%), DT Cory Durden (4; 15%), DT DaQuan Jones (4; 15%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (1; 4%), WR Efton Chism III (1; 4%), WR/KR Kyle Williams (1; 4%), WR DeMario Douglas (1; 4%), LB Robert Spillane (1; 4%), LB Christian Elliss (1; 4%), S Kevin Byard III (1; 4%)
The Patriots made some changes to their kicking game operation versus the Dolphins, most prominently in the return game. With Kyle Williams playing a starter-level role on offense, the lead-off duo on kickoff returns consisted of Corey Kiner and Lan Larison. With Miami opting to go for the end zone shot each time, however, neither had a real oppotunity to return kicks on Sunday.
Another change in the kicking game saw defensive tackle Leonard Taylor being used as a part of the kickoff coverage team. At 6-foot-3, 305 pounds he was an unlikely addition to the group, and ended up playing just two snaps. One of them saw him attack too far upfield and contribute to a 43-yard kickoff return in the first quarter.
Did not play
QB Tommy DeVito
For a seventh time in eight games this season, Tommy DeVito remained on the bench throughout the game. Unlike the previous contest in Chicago, when he had company in the form of rookies Tanner Arkin and Dametrious Crownover, he was the only player not to take the field against the Dolphins.
Inactive
QB3 Behren Morton, RB TreVeyon Henderson, WR A.J. Brown, CB Karon Prunty, CB Channing Canada, S Elliott Davison
The Patriots downgraded TreVeyon Henderson (illness) and A.J. Brown (knee) before the trip to Miami, while the other four inactives were all healthy scratches. That included safety Elliott Davison, who has since been released and is expected to rejoin the team via its practice squad. Of course, inactivity does not reflect roster status: cornerbacks Karon Prunty and Channing Canada were both healthy scratches, but New England still opted to cut veteran Kindle Vildor over them on Tuesday.
