Foxborough, MA – The Patriots are readying for their penultimate game of the season in Saturday's matchup against the Chargers at Gillette Stadium.
After listing nine players as questionable on their final injury report, seven are officially active for New England in Week 17. The Patriots game-day inactives are C Ben Brown (concussion), S Jabrill Peppers (hamstring), RB Terrell Jennings, G Sidy Sow, G Tyrese Robinson, and rookie Joe Milton is the emergency third quarterback.
Starting on offense, the Patriots could have two new starters along the offensive line, with a guaranteed change at center since Brown is inactive due to a concussion. Although head coach Jerod Mayo mentioned two potential replacements for Brown earlier this week, the expectation is that former first-rounder Cole Strange will start at center, while reserve G/C Lecitus Smith will be Strange's backup on Saturday.
Since returning to practice in late November, Strange has been focusing on transitioning to center. Strange played every snap of his career at left guard for New England in his first two seasons. However, according to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and line coach Scott Peters, the Patriots coaching staff viewed Strange as a center coming out of UT Chattanooga. Due to his skill set, many others also saw Strange's best fit at center, with NFL teams evaluating him at the pivot during the Senior Bowl in 2022.
Strange will likely make his season debut at a new position, playing in his first game in over a year. From this perspective, Strange's athleticism could make him a good center, with his ability to move laterally and make second-level climbs. The former first-rounder's smaller frame for the interior can also be less problematic at the center because centers are often uncovered on the line of scrimmage and move laterally into their blocks, so they can generate power by exploding off the ball. Although there are new challenges for Strange, such as snapping and making the line calls, the idea of Strange as a center in a zone-heavy run scheme is enticing.
The other possible change for the offensive line is at right tackle. On Friday, New England activated rookie OT Caedan Wallace (ankle) from injured reserve. Wallace was placed on injured reserve in early October following the Pats Week 4 loss to the 49ers. After selecting him with the 68th overall pick in last year's draft, the original plan was for the Penn State product to transition to left tackle. Earlier this season, Wallace started one game at left tackle in Week 3, where he was inconsistent vs. the Jets (three pressures allowed, three penalties).
Since returning to practice earlier this month, Wallace has been practicing at right tackle, where he made 40 career starts at Penn State. Wallace was viewed as a potential starter on the right side before the draft, so getting him some playing time in the final two games would allow the team to evaluate the rookie with an eye toward the future. New England would still need to address the offensive line this offseason, but Wallace panning out as a right tackle would be a huge development for the tackle-needy Patriots. Plus, after he struggled last week, current starting RT Trey Jacobs opened the door for Wallace to get playing time on Saturday.
One last note on the offensive line is that second-year guard Sidy Sow is a healthy inactive. After starting 13 games as a rookie, it appears that Sow, a fourth-round draft pick, has fallen out of favor with the new coaching staff. The Pats current staff has prioritized getting starts for rookie fourth-rounder Layden Robinson at left guard, while Sow was also replaced in an extra offensive lineman/fullback role by Lester Cotton recently. Sow was once viewed as a potential long-term starter, but it hasn't panned out that way in year two for the 117th overall pick in the 2023 draft.
It's unclear whether it will be Jacobs or Wallace at right tackle vs. the Chargers. Still, the Patriots starting offensive line will look something like this on Saturday: LT Vederian Lowe, LG Layden Robinson, C Cole Strange, RG Mike Onwenu, and RT Trey Jacobs/Caedan Wallace.
Moving over to the defense, the Patriots secondary will have some missing pieces vs. Chargers star QB Justin Herbert. Along with placing starting CB Marcus Jones (hip) on injured reserve, starting safety Jabrill Peppers (hamstring) is inactive for the second consecutive week, while fellow starter Kyle Dugger (ankle/quad) is active despite multiple injuries.
Without the younger Jones at cornerback, the belief is the Patriots will use the same rotation that limited the Bills passing attack with a 64.7% man coverage rate last week. The Pats mostly leaned on top CB Christian Gonzalez and second-year pro Alex Austin as their outside corners, with veteran Jonathan Jones working in the slot vs. Bills WR Khalil Shakir. Jones had an outstanding game covering Shakir, holding the Bills leading receiver to one catch for 12 yards in man-to-man. LA presents a similar matchup with their top receiver, Ladd McConkey, also playing in the slot.
Although the corners match up similarly as last week, a big part of the Patriots game plan that slowed down Buffalo was Jones getting robber or post-safety help while shadowing Shakir. The Pats need veteran Jaylinn Hawkins, second-year safety Marte Mapu, and undrafted rookie Dell Pettus to step up without Peppers. Dugger will likely be the starting free safety, with Hawkins, Mapu, and Pettus playing man coverage on LA's tight ends and as robbers to close the middle of the field.
Mapu, a 2023 third-round draft choice, is another interesting developmental player. Last week, the Pats safety had an eventful game. He made two "splash" plays on the ball with an interception and pass breakup while logging two hurries. However, Mapu was also in the mix on a 46-yard touchdown run by Bills RB James Cook and was tackled at the one-yard line when he took an interception return out of the end zone. Mapu's versatility and playmaking ability are intriguing, but he has been inconsistent. Mapu would be a useful role player if he can put it together.
In theory, the Patriots can deploy a similar game plan against the Chargers after being successful in man coverage vs. the Bills. However, a struggling Pats run defense is in for a big test. LA is still an aggressive passing offense, but they scheme their passing game off their run game, with the sixth-highest run-action rate in the NFL (run+play-action, 60.6%). The Chargers also like to operate out of heavy personnel, with the fourth-highest two-back rate (18.6%). With head coach Jim Harbaugh wanting to be a physical team, one would expect the Chargers to run the ball often.
With the Chargers looking to clinch a playoff berth with a win, the Patriots are looking to play the role of spoiler on Saturday. Although a win would hurt New England's draft positioning, it would help this regime stack two competitive games against AFC playoff teams down the stretch. Hopefully, they could then carry that momentum into the 2025 season.
The Patriots host the Chargers with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
