The Patriots were off to a strong start against the Steelers on Sunday, but their second scoring possession came with a costly setback.
New England was already without offensive starter A.J. Brown and then lost right guard Mike Onwenu during the first quarter after he suffered an ankle injury.
The injury occurred in Pittsburgh’s red zone as quarterback Drake Maye tried to escape the Steelers’ pass rush. During the play, T.J. Watt dove toward Maye and inadvertently took out Onwenu’s legs.
Onwenu immediately went to the ground and remained down for several moments as medical staff attended to him. A cart was eventually brought onto the field, and the offensive lineman was helped onto it.
He was unable to put weight on his right leg as he left the field, and the Patriots quickly ruled him out for the remainder of Sunday’s Week 2 matchup because of the ankle injury.
“@Patriots Injury Update: OL Mike Onwenu will not return to today’s game due to an ankle injury,” the team announced via X.
