FOXBORO — It’s fair to wonder what exactly took so long for the Patriots to finally move Mike Onwenu to right tackle.
The switch seemingly shored up the Patriots’ offensive line against a team that head coach Bill Belichick deemed the “best pass rush in the league” earlier this week.
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Quarterback Mac Jones had noticeably more time to throw in Sunday’s 29-25 comeback win over the Bills in which he was sacked just once and hit three additional times.
“The offensive line play today really stood out to me,” Jones said. “They made everything work, run game, passing game. I had a couple plays where I dropped my eyes, and that’s not on them, that’s on me.”
Jones played his best game of the season with the improved protection.
“It was just putting everything together,” rookie offensive lineman Sidy Sow said after the game. “And just playing downhill, physical. I feel like sometimes it takes a little while for offensive linemen, five guys to figure out how to play, but today I think we put it all together, and we had a good game.”
Onwenu, who started four games at right guard before being active in an emergency setting last week, was moved to right tackle, where he has thrived in the past but hadn’t played in a game since 2021. Sow started in place of Onwenu at right guard, and 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange returned from injury to play left guard. Trent Brown stayed at left tackle, and David Andrews started at center.
The Patriots have been hesitant to move Onwenu from right guard, in part because he missed most of the summer with an ankle injury. They felt it would be putting too much on his plate to move him to his second-best position as he returned from an injury. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
Riley Reiff, who was seemingly signed in free agency to start at right tackle this offseason, was placed on injured reserve this week after playing just one game at guard. Calvin Anderson, also signed in free agency, was benched after two games. Vederian Lowe, who was acquired via trade before the season, struggled in his four starts at right tackle. Sow was moved back to his college position of guard, and Tyrone Wheatley Jr., also acquired via trade before the season, is also on injured reserve. The Patriots signed Conor McDermott back to the practice squad this week, but he wasn’t elevated before the game.
Belichick didn’t address why he moved Onwenu to right tackle, and he was noncommittal if he would stay on the edge.
“We’ll see,” Belichick said. “I’ll talk to Mike about it and see how it goes.”
Onwenu said after the game, “wherever I’m needed, I’m good.”
It’s clearly a collaborative decision between Onwenu and the team where he plays.
“Our first padded practice, I was asked if I felt comfortable enough,” Onwenu said. “I practiced it throughout the week, and they made the final decision.”
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