CHICAGO -- Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Monday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
We're winging our way back from Chicago first thing Monday morning. But first, a few quick notes.
--Thought Greg put it properly when he said Sunday was the sort of victory you simply put in the rearview as soon as you're done and pledge never to speak of it again. It was really a matter of survival for New England, which certainly didn't play perfectly. But as always, it beats the alternative -- 5-2 is a good spot to be in, especially when you look around at the rest of the AFC.
--No updates as of yet on Sony Michel, but according to this report, he's going to get an MRI Monday morning to assess the damage. We'll know more if reports start to leak out about New England reaching out to free agent running backs around the league. Here's a short list of some guys who are currently available: Mike Gillislee, Charcandrick West, Thomas Rawls and Orleans Darkwa. In the context of this conversation, it's worth noting that Rex Burkhead is eligible to return later this season from his stint on injured reserve.
--This was something that was interesting to maybe only me, and I'm not 100 percent really what it meant, if anything at all. When we went in the locker room after the game Sunday, Rob Gronkowski had a nameplate over his locker, and a full equipment bag. My best guess is they were planning for every possible contingency when it came to him in regards to the weekend. Regardless, it was notable to see.
--Ja'Whaun Bentley was on the sidelines and in the locker room after the game.
--On Sunday night, the Chiefs became the first time all year to win a game the week after they played the Patriots.
--No locker room availability on Monday -- just a 2:45 p.m. conference call with Bill Belichick. But we'll have our usual Overreaction Monday Q&A set to kick off at 5 p.m. Make sure you get your questions in now, because it's going to be epic.
Now. on with the links...
1. Greg has the game report from a contest that certainly wasn't pretty for New England -- particularly on defense -- but was just enough to secure the win, the first road victory of the year for the Patriots.
2. On a day where the offense had to make do without two key components for most of the day, the special teamers provided the spark that New England needed. Like the rest of the afternoon, it wasn't perfect by any means, but all in all, it might have been the most productive outing of the year for them as a group.
3. The #StayCovered Defensive Play of the Game? That was a pretty easy one, at least according to our poll: the job the Patriots did keeping Kevin White out of the end zone on the Hail Mary at the end of the game.
4. The notebook looked at the excitement of winning on the road for the first time all year.
5. We have locker room video of Duron Harmon and Kyle Van Noy.
6. Greg spent some quality time after the game with the fellas from the 98.5 Patriots Postgame Show.
7. Greg also has a quickie piece on the impact of Josh Gordon on Sunday's game.
8. I had Live Coverage up and running all afternoon long. Check out the transcript from the contest here.
9. Our own Doc Flynn writes here at that at first glance, it's tough to gauge Michel's injury.
10. One more plug for my Sunday notebook, which looks at a bunch of stuff, including the fact there was little pressure on either side of the ball (at least prior to Sunday's game), an update on Ulrick John, and much more.
Extra Point: Heads up, Bills Mafia.
Patriots
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