The defense is one of the New England Patriots' biggest strengths, but that group lost a super important player this week when it was reported that linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley will miss the rest of the 2024 NFL season.
Bentley, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, suffered a torn pec in Sunday's 23-20 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium.
Bentley's importance to the Patriots defense is massive. He has tallied 100-plus tackles in each of the last three seasons. He is a team captain, he is a very good run defender, and he was a steady, reliable presence in the middle of the field. Bentley tallied 12 tackles and 0.5 sacks before leaving the Week 2 defeat with his injury.
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How much does the loss of Bentley hurt the Patriots defense?
"(Bentley) is one of the Patriots' most consistent performers," NBC Sports Boston's Patriots insider Tom E. Curran said Tuesday on Quick Slants, as seen in the video above. "He actually is (in many ways) a successor to Jerod Mayo. Dont'a Hightower was a similar player in some ways, but Dont'a Hightower was even more of a freak athlete than Jerod Mayo, who was a freak athlete. Really, Ja'Whaun Bentley is kind of in between.
"And what he did was, even though he wasn't ridiculously athletic, he was a player who was so smart and so anticipatory, that he got to plays maybe a half-second quicker, and he allowed other players to make plays as well. Jahlani Tavai, he was a player who profited from the presence of Ja'Whaun Bentley, much the same way Brandon Spikes used to with the presence of Jerod Mayo back in the day.
"So it's a big loss for the Patriots, especially with Breece Hall and the Jets (in Week 3) -- one of the best running backs in the league."
Not having Bentley in Week 3 against the Jets is a tough setback for the Patriots. He's one of the players who would be tasked with shutting down Jets running back Breece Hall, who leads New York in rushing attempts, rushing yards and receptions.
The Patriots defense was already without star defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who is dealing with blood clots. The team also traded pass rusher Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons in August after they couldn't work out a new contract with him.
Bentley's absence puts more pressure on linebackers such as Jahlani Tavai, Anfernee Jennings, Josh Uche and Raekwon McMillan to step up and play even better.
