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As the New England Patriots get ready to face the New York Jets in Week 8, safety Kyle Dugger gave the team an unwanted October surprise by unexpectedly showing up on the injury report.
“The Patriots have added DB Kyle Dugger to the injury report with an ankle. He is questionable,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday.
The Pats safety injured his ankle back in Week 4 when he left the game against the San Francisco 49ers with a lower leg injury and did not return to that contest. He missed the next game, a loss to the Miami Dolphins, but played in Week 6 and 7. Now, his status is in question as the team gets ready to face one of the most dangerous wide receiver tandems in the league in Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson.
Patriots can play spoiler in AFC East
After upsetting the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, there was a glimmer of hope for the 2024 Patriots season. However, that light has been extinguished with six consecutive losses. At 1-6, any hope of the postseason is gone, and now there are only two real goals left.
One is to develop rookie quarterback Drake Maye and the other young players on the roster for the future. The other is to stick it to the other teams in the AFC East when possible.
Over the final 10 games of the regular season, the Pats have four games against AFC East rivals. In addition to the Patriots-Jets tilt in Week 8, they also face the Dolphins in Week 12 and the Buffalo Bills in Weeks 16 and 18. While winning these games won't do much for New England in the standings at the end of the year, sticking it to a division rival is always nice for a team's players and its fans.
Plus, with Maye and company poised to face the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins six times a season over the course of the QB's career, getting in their heads early is always a good thing.
