Underdogs to wounded dogs
13 players questionable for Saturday’s game
The Patriots were already underdogs heading into Saturday’s Wild Card playoff game at Buffalo.
Now, they’re wounded dogs.
The Patriots listed 13 players on their final injury report Thursday and all 13 are considered questionable.
Left tackle Isaiah Wynn
was the only player listed who did not practice this week. Safety Kyle Dugger
(hand) was not spotted during the media-access portion of either session, but was later listed as limited on both of the team’s ensuing practice reports. It’s unclear exactly what Dugger’s level of participation was, though it’s conceivable he could play with a club Saturday to protect his injured hand.
Linebacker Jamie Collins
returned from an ankle injury to practice in a limited capacity Thursday. Rookie defensive tackle Christian Barmore was limited all week, just days after being carted off the field in Miami with a right leg injury.
Eight of the nine other players listed all played against the Dolphins, an encouraging sign for their availability in Buffalo. The lone holdout, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, became just the third Patriot out of 65 deemed questionable the past two months to actually miss a game.
Meanwhile, the Bills removed every player from their final injury report, making them the healthiest team heading into Wild Card weekend.
Scar: Cold won’t affect Mac
Over his 36-year career in the NFL, including 34 spent with the Patriots, Dante Scarnecchia coached in plenty of frosty games.
So the Pats’ former offensive line coach has a pretty good idea what the Patriots and Bills will be up against
Saturday night in their Wild Card playoff game, when temperatures are expected to near zero degrees. For those who think the cold won’t be a factor, think again.
“The 14 mile-an-hour winds won’t be a factor, but the cold will be,” Scarnecchia said Thursday when reached by the Herald. “It takes a hearty person to go out there and pretend that it’s not. But it is.”
One of the chief outside concerns with the Patriots is how Mac Jones will adapt to the weather. He’s a Florida native, and hasn’t played in many games with such extreme conditions. Scarnecchia, however, doesn’t believe the rookie will be affected too much.
“He’s been practicing in it for a long time. I don’t think it’s going to impact him, maybe as much as others do,” he said. “The thing is, both teams are well prepared for it. There’s no advantage there for anyone.”
As for the winds, which will fall well short of the 50 MPH gusts that defined the teams’ last meeting in Buffalo, Scarnecchia explained why Saturday’s swirls shouldn’t be a problem for either side.
“I think 14 mile-an-hour winds is just doing business. In late winter in New England, that’s just doing business,” he said. “You frequently see it in our stadium that way. So 14 mile-an-hour winds is negligible in a lot of respects. The first game, that was pretty extreme. That kills you.”
Report: Texans targeting Mayo
Nearing the end of his third season coaching inside linebackers in New England, Jerod Mayo may not be sticking around for long.
According to ESPN, Mayo is expected to emerge as a top candidate for the Texans’ newly vacant headcoaching job. Houston fired head coach David Culley on Thursday after his first and only season at the helm. Under Culley, the Texans finished 4-13 with arguably the least talented roster in the league.
Mayo, 35, told reporters earlier this week he’s always dreamed of becoming a head coach. He also confirmed he’d accept an interview request from the Broncos, who have reportedly also expressed interest in him. Though Mayo indicated he wouldn’t interview until after the Patriots’ ongoing playoff run has concluded.
“I would hope that any prospective employer would understand my focus is 100% on the job at hand,” Mayo said. “If that causes me not to get a job because I’m focused on the job at hand, so be it. I am happy here.”
In Houston, Mayo would be reunited with former Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, now the Texans’ general manager. Caserio was hired last year by former Patriots character coach Jack Easterby, who joined the organization in Jan. 2020. Easterby now serves as the executive vice president of football operations in Houston.
Mayo joined the Patriots’ coaching staff in 2019. He is the fastest-rising assistant ever under Bill Belichick, and the only coach to lead a position group without a year of experience coaching in Belichick’s system or elsewhere in the NFL or major college ranks.
Mayo originally entered the league as a first-round draft pick in 2008. The Patriots drafted him 10th overall out of Tennessee, and he enjoyed a decorated eight-year career as a team captain and two-time Pro Bowler. Mayo also won a Super Bowl in Feb. 2015.