The New England Patriots will be without their best defensive player Monday night when they take on the rival New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
UPDATE (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. ET): The Patriots have officially ruled out cornerback Stephon Gilmore, defensive lineman Lawrence Guy and linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley.
--End of Update--
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Veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore won't play, according to The Athletic's Jeff Howe.
Gilmore was one of 17 players listed as questionable on the Patriots' final injury report released Saturday. He also missed last week's loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Tom E. Curran's Patriots vs. Jets Week 9 Preview
The reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year award winner has tallied 15 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and two passes defensed in six games this season.
New England Patriots
The Patriots are likely to beat the Jets with or without Gilmore. New York is the only winless team (0-8) in the NFL and has the lowest-scoring offense at 12.9 points per game. The Jets also have lost eight consecutive games to the Patriots and oddsmakers have pegged them as 10-point underdogs for Week 9.
Phil Perry's latest Patriots mailbag
So, while the Patriots probably won't miss Gilmore on Monday night, they definitely need him to be healthy the remainder of the regular season to mount a serious run at a playoff berth.
The Patriots have a 2-5 record and entered Week 9 trailing the Cleveland Browns by 2.5 games for the final wild card playoff berth in the AFC.