Mike Pennel, Chicago Bears
A miserable night for the New England Patriots was made even worse after starting center David Andrews suffered a head injury following an illegal hit from the Chicago Bears‘ Mike Pennel on Monday night.
The Bears plastered the Patriots 33-14 in one of New England’s worst home losses in recent memory. With the game decided, Bailey Zappe had a fourth-quarter pass deflected at the line of scrimmage, which wound up in the hands of Bears linebacker Roquan Smith.
During the run back of the interception, the Bears’ Pennel leveled Andrews with an illegal blindside block. Pennel was ultimately ejected from the game, and Andrews lay on the field for several minutes after the hit. He was ultimately helped to his feet, and he walked gingerly to the blue tent, where he was evaluated for a head injury.
Here is a look at the hit:
#Bears Mike Pennel was ejected for this blindside block-targeting hit on #Patriots David Andrews. t.co/VE5ZyihZIo
The hit wasn’t the most egregious you’ll ever see, and Monday Night Football analyst Troy Aikman admitted Pennel’s actions were instinctual during this kind of play. Nonetheless, the result somewhat supports the NFL’s decision to outlaw this kind of block.
As expected, fans had much to say about the block that led to the injury and the ejection.
Patriots Fans Take Umbrage With Mike Pennel’s Hit on David Andrews
One Patriots fan described Pennel’s hit on Andrews as a “cheap shot.”
Mark Maske of the Washington Post is not just a fan; he found Pennel’s hit to be “dangerous and egregious.”
NESN’s George Balekji noted that Andrews’ head smacked the field after he was hit. That may have been the blow that led to the head injury.
SB Nation’s Aaron Leming says Pennel “tried to kill Andrews.” I’m sure that wasn’t the case, but this sort of block is one NFL players must be conscious of when they’re on the field. After this apparent injury suffered by Andrews makes its way to the NFL office, we could see a crackdown on this play for the rest of the season.
A Patriots fan went hard in the paint about the hit and what they perceived as a celebration while Andrews was down on the field.
What Went Wrong for the Patriots?
There were several things to dislike for Patriots fans in the team’s 33-14 loss to the Bears. Chicago ran all over the Patriots defense to the tune of 243 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. Quarterback Justin Fields might have had the best game of his career.
While he wasn’t perfect, Sunday’s win was the best example of how he can hurt an opponent with his dual-threat capabilities. Fields threw for 179 yards, a TD, and an interception. The Patriots sack him four times, but he escaped the pocket frequently and lit New England up with designed QB run plays.
Fields ran for 82 yards and a TD.
On offense, the Patriots couldn’t get anything going after Zappe led the team to a 14-10 advantage immediately after Bill Belichick benched Mac Jones following his sixth interception of the season.
The Bears quickly adjusted to Zappe picking him off twice and forcing a fumble on a handoff. New England has a ton of work to do to improve, and they better be ready for a vastly improved New york Jets team waiting on them for Sunday.