FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — New England put together another impressive win Sunday afternoon with the 37-22 victory over the Bills in Buffalo. But the victory certainly came at a cost as the AFC East leaders reportedly lost linebacker Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley to season-ending injuries.
Mayo and Ridley were both officially listed as out for Thursday night’s game at Gillette Stadium against the New York Jets. Both are expected to land on injured reserve, as Ridley reportedly suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee and Mayo reportedly suffered a serious leg injury.
“I don’t think it looks too good,” Bill Belichick said Monday of the two players’ health before reports indicated what had been feared.
Mayo also went down with a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 6 last fall.
Undrafted rookie Deontae Skinner filled in for Mayo at times in Buffalo, forced into action with Dont’a Hightower also sidelined for the second straight week with a knee injury. Jamie Collins will be expected to take on more responsibility in just his second season.
“I’m sure every player gains from being in there from game experience and playing time,” Belichick said. “It’s still very bittersweet to lose a player of Jerod’s magnitude and what he means to the team — and how much he embraces the team and how much the team embraces him. Nobody works harder, nobody is more unselfish and more dependable than he is.
“We’re just going to have to get contributions from other guys — some at the linebacker position and some at other positions as well,” Belichick said. “We have to be ready to move on without him. So, we’ll have to look to multiple groups [and] multiple players to do some of the things that he did.”
While Ridley isn’t at Mayo’s All-Pro level, he certainly is New England’s lead back. He’s a former 1,200-yard rusher who led the team this season with 340 yards through six games. The rest of the running back depth chart includes third-down back Shane Vereen, limited backup Brandon Bolden and fourth-round rookie James White, who’s been a healthy scratch five times in the first six weeks.
“I don’t yet know the whole situation with Stevan, but certainly if he’s out then we’re going to need the rest of our guys, the rest of our group, to play more snaps and to take on a bigger role,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “We have confidence in all our guys. This is the norm for the National Football League, and our job is to have the guys that are here ready to go, and they’ll certainly work hard to do that. We have a lot of confidence that they’ll do the job we need them to do.”