The Patriots face an important test in Week 5.
Sunday afternoon’s matchup against the Dolphins will prove whether the Patriots truly are one of the worst teams in the NFL — as they’ve shown over the past two weeks — or if they can be the competitive team that showed up in their Week 1 win over the Bengals and in Week 2’s close loss to the Seahawks.
The Dolphins come to town without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
RB Antonio Gibson
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said the team was considering benching Rhamondre Stevenson for Gibson. Stevenson has fumbled in four straight games, and he’s lost fumbles in each of the Patriots’ last two games.
Patriots running backs coach Taylor Embree said Friday that Gibson, who’s 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, has the ability to fill in on early downs and as a pass-catcher.
“AG’s one of those guys, like, he can be a top guy in this league,” Embree said. “He’s really got the ability to do everything — pass pro, run routes, catch the ball and run the rock.”
Gibson has produced the Patriots’ two longest plays this season, a 50-yard reception and 45-yard run.
If the Patriots bench Stevenson, they could just insert him into Gibson’s role as a change-of-pace back until he proves that fumbling is no longer an issue.
“He’s a mentally strong athlete and human being,” Embree said. “We understand in our room, our main job is to take care of the football. No one’s been more disappointed than ‘Mondre. Just get it fixed, man. He’s a top runner in this league. And he understands the deal. We can’t have those, the balls on the ground.”
LT Vederian Lowe
Lowe is officially questionable to play Sunday against the Dolphins, but he told the Herald that he’s preparing to return from a knee injury that kept him sidelined in Weeks 3 and 4.
Lowe’s replacement, Demontrey Jacobs, did the best that he could against 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa. But Lowe was the Patriots’ top option to play left tackle by the end of training camp. He has to perform even better this week against the Dolphins.
Among 80 qualified offensive tackles, Lowe ranks 48th in PFF’s pass-blocking grade. He’s let up two QB hits and five hurries in two games.
Dolphins pass rusher Jaelan Phillips suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4. Emmanuel Ogbah now provides the biggest threat off the edge.
C Nick Leverett
The Patriots lost starting center David Andrews to a season-ending shoulder injury, which requires surgery. Now Leverett must step up into his role, which extends beyond just snapping the ball and blocking.
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s offense requires pre-snap duties from the center. Now more will have to be put on quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s plate.
“You can’t fill those shoes with one foot,” Van Pelt said Thursday. “Jacoby will help out. Nick’s trained to do it and ready to go. Obviously it’s a huge drop in just the person, the leader, everything, his intelligence, experience. That’s big shoes to fill. But we’ll have to collectively fill them between Nick and Jacoby.”
Leverett performed well in Sunday’s loss to the 49ers. PFF didn’t charge him with a single pressure allowed. He’ll need to contain Dolphins interior defender Calais Campbell on Sunday.
DE Keion White
When Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux made comments on WEEI this week that some defenders are playing selfishly, some wondered if the veteran was talking about White.
White has been one of the Patriots’ best defensive players, but he has run past the quarterback and lost containment in certain pass-rushing situations.
Mayo hasn’t considered sitting White.
“If it was something that was happening on a week-to-week basis, like the fumbling with Rhamondre, that’s a little bit different with Keion,” Mayo said. “I would say as far as the edge is concerned, it’s not just one person. It’s been different people every single week. Look, if you were to take a snapshot — and I think it’s important to remember that we are still early in the season — but Keion has been one of our most impactful players, and we look forward to his continued growth.
“But again, it comes down to execution. It comes down to discipline. It comes down to doing what’s right for the team and not for the individual. I would say, when you go back and look at some of those plays, you think, look, we’re not good on third down. Why? It’s not because we’re not covering guys. It’s because we’re giving the quarterback the chance to get outside the pocket. I think we just need to play better as a team and not as individuals for us to have a good chance at winning games.”
White and the rest of the Patriots’ defenders will need to contain the pocket this week given Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley’s athleticism.
S Jaylinn Hawkins
Patriots safety Kyle Dugger didn’t practice this week after injuring his ankle, and he’s officially listed as questionable. Jabrill Peppers is also questionable with a shoulder injury.
The Patriots will need to count on Hawkins to play a bigger role this week, and that’s a difficult test against Dolphins speedy wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
The Patriots also could be getting safety Marte Mapu back off of injured reserve. Mapu is questionable with a calf injury.
