Antonio Gibson suffered a significant injury in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills, a setback that reshaped the New England Patriots’ backfield. He was injured on a kickoff return and has remained sidelined ever since.
Antonio Gibson Injury Update
Gibson tore his right ACL on a second-quarter kickoff return in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills. He went down following a heavy hit, immediately grabbed his knee, and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Further testing later confirmed the ligament tear.
Gibson was subsequently placed on injured reserve, officially ending his season. The New England Patriots have taken a conservative approach to his recovery, prioritizing rehabilitation benchmarks rather than accelerating his timeline.
With Gibson on injured reserve, a return this season is off the table. The focus now shifts to a typical offseason progression that includes conditioning work, position drills, and eventually contact once medically cleared.
Given the nature of the injury, any earlier-than-expected comeback would be unusual. A torn ACL generally requires a recovery window of 10 to 12 months for NFL players. He is expected to be ready for the start of next season, but will not feature in this year’s playoffs for the Patriots.
Here is how the Patriots’ running back depth chart looks for the playoffs:
- RB1: Rhamondre Stevenson
- RB2: TreVeyon Henderson
- RB3: D’Ernest Johnson
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Prior to the injury, Gibson had recorded 25 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown and remained a key part of New England’s special teams unit, highlighted by a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown in Week 2.
New England Patriots’ Stats and Insights for Divisional Round
Playoff: The New England Patriots will play a home game in the Divisional Round for the 11th consecutive time. The last time the Patriots played a road game in the Divisional Round was 2007.
Team: Including the Wild Card game, the Patriots have played four teams that finished with a winning record (Steelers, Bills twice, Los Angeles Chargers). New England is 2-2 in those games, with both losses coming at home.
QB: Drake Maye finished second in the NFL with a QBi score of 91.1(A-). His 97.8 (A+) in Week 17 against the New York Jets was the second-best since 2000 behind Peyton Manning during the 2007 season. Three of Maye’s five lowest QBi games were Patriots losses.
OFF: New England scored 16 points in the Wild Card game against the Chargers. It was the first time since Week 3 that they scored under 23 points. The Patriots finished second in the league in OFFi after finishing 26th last season.
DEF: New England has held opponents to 13.4 points per game in 15 wins, including six games allowing 13 points or fewer. The Chargers scored three in the Wild Card game. In their three losses, the Patriots have allowed an average of 25.3 points per game.
