The New England Patriots were defeated by the Seattle Seahawks 23-20 in overtime on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, and while the loss felt bad, the injuries added to the pain.
Early in the game, New England lost one of their defensive starters and captains, as linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley suffered a shoulder injury that made him questionable to return. However, he never re-entered the game.
It's not clear what caused Bentley's injury, but ESPN's Mike Reiss did point out a first-and-10 run by Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet that Bentley engaged with Seahawks guard Anthony Bradford and appeared to reach for his shoulder after the play.
This looks like the play in which LB Ja’Whaun Bentley (8) injured his shoulder. Engaged with RG Anthony Bradford, wrestles him down with left arm, and then reaches up to left shoulder and flexes it out.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 16, 2024
Played one snap after this play and didn’t return. pic.twitter.com/VGr08TExct
With the injury keeping Bentley out for the remainder of the game, the team turned to Raekwon McMillan in the middle of their defense.
Now, New England has a short week ahead of them, as they'll take on the New York Jets on Thursday night. Thankfully, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler provided the positive update that Bentley's injury isn't serious, and he's expected to return for Week 3.
#Patriots are optimistic about linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley returning for Thursday night's game against the #Jets, per source. Bentley hurt his shoulder Sunday but the injury does not appear serious.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 16, 2024
Bentley led the team in tackles (12) in Week 1 and has recorded over 100 tackles in each of his last three seasons.
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