Is Mike Onwenu at right tackle the final piece of the puzzle for the Patriots’ beleaguered offensive line?
The Patriots have struggled with health up front all season, an issue that began in the first padded practice of the summer when Cole Strange went down with a knee injury. Onwenu and Trent Brown dealt with health issues, and newcomers Calvin Anderson and Riley Reiff, both largely ineffective, had issues of their own. Meanwhile, some of the rookies faced a steep learning curve.
But Sunday, using their sixth different starting combination in seven games, the Patriots finally seemed to hit on the right grouping. Brown, Strange, David Andrews, rookie Sidy Sow, and Onwenu played roughly 95 percent of the snaps together (Vederian Lowe made a late cameo after Brown went down briefly with a knee injury) and they seemed to click.
They held the powerful Buffalo pass rush to one sack, and helped clear a path that allowed the ground game to average 4 yards per carry. As a group, it likely was their best game of the season.
“They made everything work,” said quarterback Mac Jones.
The conversations about moving Onwenu from guard to tackle started in the days following the Week 6 loss to Las Vegas, coach Bill Belichick said.
“I had a good conversation with Mike after the Raider game and ultimately I think everyone thought that was the best thing for us to do at this time,” Belichick said Monday. “So, we went with it. He had a good week, and thought he did a good job for us.
“Mike played [right tackle] his rookie year. He’s a smart kid — understands probably all the different positions on the offensive line. Pretty good fundamental player, and obviously has got good strength.”
Onwenu said he was “indifferent” to where he ended up.
“I’ve played the position before,” he said. “So it’s just about adjusting and going week to week against the team we’re playing.”
“I don’t choose where I play. We’ll just see where that happens to be.”
Officiating ‘kind of unusual’
Belichick said some of the officiating was “kind of unusual.”
The Bills were called for nine penalties for 46 yards, while the Patriots took eight penalties for 59 yards. But one of the strangest things was seeing multiple flags picked up or dismissed.
“You’d have to ask [referee] Clete [Blakeman] about some of those, throwing flags, picking them up, and throwing them late, or whatever,” Belichick said. “It was just kind of an unusual game the way some of the penalties were called all the way around.
“The obvious question is if it gets picked up, why did you throw it in the first place?”
Brown has been a nice catch
Pharaoh Brown has more receiving yards (137) than JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ty Montgomery, and Tyquan Thornton combined through seven games.
The big tight end, who arrived before the season, continues to be a sizable contributor in the passing game as an oversized target at 6 feet 5 inches, as well as a physical presence in the run game. He’s made a nice connection with Jones on a number of occasions, including against the Bills, catching a pair of passes for 51 yards.
Brown has found particular success with Jones on bootleg-style rollouts by the quarterback. He hauled in a 25-yarder after Jones rolled out, picking up big yardage after the catch because Bills tacklers had a difficult time bringing him down.
“What works for me is when the ball is in the air, I just kind of see the ball and that’s all I see,” Brown said Sunday. “I was actually messing with [Kendrick Bourne]. We were talking about our [yards after the catch]. I said, ‘Bro, I literally don’t feel guys hitting me. You know what I’m saying?’ I just see that ball, and then I catch the ball, and just go.”
“Pharaoh’s a big target,” Belichick said. “He’s got good hands. He’s done a really good job of running with the ball and securing the ball.”
Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.