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Carolina Panthers defensive lineman and former New England Patriots free-agent signee Henry Anderson revealed he’d suffered a “minor stroke” earlier this year via the Panthers’ official website.
“I mean, I didn’t really know much about strokes before it happened,” Anderson said. “And then after the fact that I definitely found out a lot more about them and realize that I got pretty lucky avoiding anything serious. I mean, I feel totally fine. Like I said, it’s not like an injury like a knee or shoulder or something that you’ve got to rehab and get the strength back and everything. This was just something that like, I felt pretty much back to normal as soon as they got the thing (blood clot) out.”
Anderson, whom the Patriots released in September via an injury settlement, played just four games for New England during the 2021 season. The Patriots originally signed him to add depth to the team’s defensive front, but Anderson could not stay healthy frequently enough to make more of an impact.
In his four games as a Patriot, Anderson recorded three solo tackles. He has played in six games for the Panthers this year with 12 combined tackles.
Looking Ahead to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night
We could call the Monday night clash with the Arizona Cardinals a must-win game for the Patriots. Then again, with a 6-6 record and just five games remaining in the regular season, you could probably say that about all of New England’s remaining contests.
The Patriots are in Arizona to tangle with Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. The last time the Patriots faced the Cardinals was during the 2020 season. Arizona came into Gillette Stadium, and the Patriots won an ugly offensive game 20-17.
New England’s only points came on a pair of touchdown runs from retired legend James White and two field goals from Nick Folk. Bill Belichick’s defense limited Murray to 170 passing yards, 0 TD passes, and an interception. Like White, Kenyan Drake had two touchdown runs for the Cardinals, but it wasn’t enough as New England eeked out the win.
The last time the Patriots played the Cardinals in Arizona was during the season opener of the 2016 season. Tom Brady was serving a suspension for Deflategate, and Jimmy Garroppolo filled in admirably.
Jimmy G completed 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards, a TD, and no interceptions. LeGarrette Blount ran for 70 yards and a TD while the defense contained Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson in the 23-21 victory. The game was sealed on a field goal from Stephen Gostkowski with 3:44 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals haven’t beaten the Patriots since Week 2 of 2012, when they edged Brady and Co., 20-18. The games between the two teams are usually close, and we shouldn’t expect anything different on Monday night.
New England is currently a 1.5-point favorite, according to most oddsmakers.
Week 14 AFC East Results
The Buffalo Bills maintained control over the AFC East on Sunday with a hard-fought 20-12 win over the New York Jets. The victory is a big one for the Patriots and their playoff hopes. New England owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over New York thanks to the series sweep they have already earned.
The Jets are now just a half-game ahead of the Patriots heading into the Monday night matchup. If the Patriots win, they will vault ahead of the Jets in the division standings and AFC playoff picture.
The other AFC East team lost on Sunday night. The Miami Dolphins fell to the Los Angeles Chargers in an exciting primetime matchup, 23-17. Miami is now 7-5, and the Patriots can move with a half-game of the Fins if they can knock off the Cardinals.
The Patriots also have a head-to-head rematch with the Dolphins on New Year’s Day after losing the season opener in Miami, 20-7.
New England is currently in last place, but they aren’t out of it. If New England wins, they would bump the Chargers out of the seventh and final AFC playoff spot based on a better win percentage in conference games–at least for now.
In any case, the Patriots have control over their destiny for the rest of the season.