The New England Patriots pulled out a miracle win Sunday in Pittsburgh, but they didn’t emerge unscathed.
Running back Rex Burkhead suffered a knee injury in the third quarter at Heinz Field and was immediately ruled out of New England’s eventual 27-24 win. Initial reports suggested Burkhead avoided an ACL tear, but it appears he suffered a sprained knee as well as a bruise, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Heading into the MRI, the #Patriots believe RB Rex Burkhead suffered a sprained knee, along with a bruise from a player landing on it. No torn ACL. The early hope is for a return for the playoffs.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 18, 2017
Burkhead will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of his injury, as Rapoport noted.
The Patriots are lucky in that they have running back depth: Burkhead, Dion Lewis and James White have been effective enough to make Mike Gillislee a healthy scratch for the team’s last six games despite scoring four touchdowns over New England’s first two contests.
Still, the Patriots definitely would benefit from having Burkhead back for the postseason. The versatile running back has emerged as a consistent performer in both the run and pass games, tallying at least one score in four consecutive games and got New England on the board with a 1-yard TD plunge Sunday before his injury.
With Burkhead expected to miss the team’s final two regular season games, though, it’s possible head coach Bill Belichick could call on Gillislee to shore up the Patriots’ rushing attack.
