FOXBORO, Mass. — Since early last season, Patriots fans and media members had been calling for New England to use its best offensive lineman to plug its biggest O-line hole.
That finally happened Sunday.
When the Patriots’ offense took the field against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium, Mike Onwenu was manning the right tackle position rather than his usual right guard spot.
Ownenu replaced Vederian Lowe, who started the previous four games and ranked among the worst right tackles in the NFL. Calvin Anderson was similarly ineffective in Weeks 1 and 2.
Right tackle has been the Patriots’ weakest position since the start of last season, and though Onwenu played well there in 2020 and 2021, Bill Belichick and New England’s coaching staff were reluctant to move him out of his natural position. Entering Sunday, all of his 1,200-plus snaps since the start of the 2022 season came at right guard.
“We didn’t really ever anticipate playing him at tackle, and then we got into a bind, we put him out there and he played pretty good,” Belichick said last November. “But I think he’s built to play guard. He’s comfortable playing guard. He has a really good skill set in there. That’s where we would like to play him, for sure.”
Onwenu’s performance at right tackle can’t be any worse than what the team was getting from Lowe, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be an immediate fix there. The 25-year-old, who’s in a contract year, hasn’t been fully healthy since undergoing offseason ankle surgery and didn’t play in the Patriots’ previous two games.
Fourth-round rookie Sidy Sow got the nod at right guard against Buffalo. Cole Strange returned to start at left guard after missing three games with a knee injury. Veterans David Andrews and Trent Brown were in their usual spots at center and left tackle, respectively.
Lowe, guard Atonio Mafi and center/guard Jake Andrews were the Patriots’ available O-line backups as they looked to avoid their first 1-6 start to a season since 1993.
