The last thing the New England Patriots needed Monday night was to lose a key player to injury on top of suffering an embarrassing 33-14 loss to the Chicago Bears at home.
UPDATE (Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 5:40 p.m. ET): Patriots center David Andrews is in the concussion protocol, per Pro Football Focus' Doug Kyed.
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--End of Update--
Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe was intercepted by Bears linebacker Roquan Smith with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Bears defensive lineman Mike Pennel absolutely lit up Patriots center David Andrews with a blindside block during Smith's return.
Andrews' head appeared to bang against the ground as a result of the cheap shot. The Patriots announced that Andrews was being evaluated for a head injury. Pennel was penalized for an illegal blindside block and got ejected by the officials.
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Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was asked about the hit in his postgame press conference, and he did not defend his player.
"I saw it. Yeah. Totally in the wrong," Eberflus said. "He should not do that. And I told him right afterward. And that's not what we teach. We don't teach that. It's not good football."
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about the hit on Tuesday morning.
"I think Coach Eberflus probably put it well, so I don’t have anything to add to that," he said.
The Patriots cannot afford to lose Andrews for any extended amount of time. He's a quality center with loads of experience, which is quite valuable not just to the offensive line but also the Patriots' young quarterbacks.
His situation is one worth monitoring closely as Sunday's Week 8 game against the New York Jets approaches.