FOXBORO -- There was no way Julian Edelman wasn't going to be in the huddle. That's how it looked, at least.
He'd already missed two drives as he was evaluated for a head injury. By the time the Patriots were getting ready to send their offense back on the field midway through the fourth quarter, he was on the sideline, helmet on, cleared for action, playing catch with Tom Brady.
"I think we’d all prefer to have him out there 60 minutes," Brady said later. "So, how much did he miss, a quarter? About 15 minutes? . . . Glad he came back. Made a big play like he always does."
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Just before the drive was about to start, rookie Jakobi Meyers began to trot onto the field. He’d filled in admirably during Edelman’s absence, connecting with Brady three times for 25 yards. But Edelman, hustling, jogged up behind Meyers and overtook him as soon as Meyers heard from coaches that he was to take his place on the sideline.
“I wasn’t [surprised],” Meyers said later. “I seen him playing around on the field and so I was pretty sure he was coming back. I just had to hold it down until he got back. I wasn't sure if he was being serious. I wasn't sure what his situation was. In my mind, I knew there was a chance he'd be back. But whatever the situation was, I was going to be ready . . ."
"I'm going to make them pull me off the field. That's what happened. I went like I was in, and they pulled me out."
New England Patriots
Edelman indicated after the game that he was, in fact, "playing around" after the hit that earned him an offensive pass-interference flag and sent him into concussion protocol.
The way he explained it, he was "trying to sell it" in order to not be penalized. When he saw a flag (it landed by his face mask) he popped up to protest. Even headed into the locker room after being evaluated in the blue injury tent on the Patriots sideline, Edelman looked annoyed by the situation.
But players protest concussion evaluations all the time. The concussion protocol is in place for a reason. If he was faking, he probably didn’t take the best angle by lying face-first in the turf.
When he was finally allowed back on the field, he showed up quickly.
The moment during which he left Meyers behind and re-entered the game, he followed that up with a catch on a deep over route on first down. The 33-year-old wideout — who had knee and shoulder injuries coming into the game — spun away from one hit and picked up 30 yards to spark his team.
It was the only pass of what became the game-winning the drive. The Patriots followed it up with six runs, three by Sony Michel, two by Rex Burkhead and a first-down sneak by Brady, to take a 22-17 lead. Edelman caught a scramble-drill two-point conversion to make it a seven-point game, 24-17.
While the Patriots ran two 11-play drives and one that lasted 17 plays (third-most in franchise history), sustaining those types of series against the No. 2 defense in football is no sure thing. Which is what made Edelman’s 30-yard catch fresh off the sideline so critical.
And that’s why it’s our Turning Point for Week 16.
"That's just what you expect from him now," Meyers said. "That's the kind of guy he is. Regardless of the situation, he'll go in there and give his all."