Julian Edelman has broken foot, report says

The Patriots lost receiver Julian Edelman to a foot injury late in the first quarter of Sunday’s 27-26 win over the Giants at MetLife Stadium.

NFL.com reported Edelman has a broken foot. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that Edelman is having surgery Monday.

The team’s top receiver and one of Tom Brady’s favorite and most reliable targets was hurt after a catching a 12-yard pass on the final play of the quarter.

Edelman left for the locker room with a noticeable limp after being examined on the bench by the medical staff. He was originally listed as questionable to return but the Patriots later announced he would not return.

Edelman had four catches for 53 yards in the first quarter, including a 30-yard connection two plays before he was hurt.
Deep covered


Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski, whose 54-yard field goal was the difference Sunday, is the first to reach an 80 percent success rate from 50 yards or longer.

Gostkowski has made 81 percent (17 for 21) of his career field goal tries from 50-plus. He is 4 for 4 from 50-plus in 2015, including a career-best 57-yard kick.

Gostkowski’s 17 field goals of 50-plus yards are the most in team history. His game-winner Sunday gave him a franchise-record 264 field goals.

It was plenty deep, too. Gostkowski had been booming kicks through the same uprights from farther back before the game.

“The ball definitely carried better that way,’’ he said. “It was a pretty calm day for this time of year, especially in the Northeast. It was a good night to kick.’’


Good feelings



After the Giants took a 26-24 lead with less than two minutes left, things didn’t look good for the Patriots, but special teams captain Matthew Slater was still feeling good.

“I remember looking at Nate Ebner when we got the ball back on that and saying, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t want any other quarterback in this situation’ . . . had a couple plays that could have gone either way but at the end of the day, 12 [Brady] made the plays he needed to make.

“[Rob] Gronkowski and those guys all produced and then Stephen the machine just continued to be the machine.’’


Pregame sights



Among the more interesting pregame scenes was Patriots owner Robert Kraftchatting with commissioner Roger Goodell and Jon Bon Jovi.

Later, team president Jonathan Kraft had a lengthy conversation with Goodell. Some tweets indicated it was an animated discussion. Kraft disagreed.

“I think I’m always animated. I may or may not have been animated,’’ he said. “We were having a very civil conversation, we were talking about e-commerce and some digital media stuff.

“There is other business, so separate those two things and that’s the way it’s working right now. The conversation was not animated. I might use my hands a lot to talk. It was definitely not an animated conversation.’’

Asked if this was Goodell’s first Patriots game of the season, Kraft said, “He’s the commissioner of the league. He didn’t say this to me, but he lives in New York, and the situation that happened on Friday in Paris, part of what took place there was at a sporting event, and I think one of Roger’s motives — he didn’t say this to me — was to be visible at a sporting event.’’


Fells spotted



Giants tight end Daniel Fells, a former Patriot, was spotted on the sideline before the game. He is recovering from an MRSA infection in his foot and there were fears earlier in the season that he could lose his foot . . . Also spotted was former Rutgers playerEric LeGrand, who was paralyzed during a game in college. Patriots defendersDevin McCourty, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, and Jonathan Freeny all played at Rutgers . . . Referee Ed Hochuli had a microphone malfunction during the television break between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth. He was discussing a complaint the Patriots sideline had on Josh Brown’s 53-yard field goal attempt with his crew but left the mic on, momentarily letting the entire stadium in on the conversation . . . The Patriots clinched their 15th straight winning season . . . The Patriots have scored in an NFL-record 35 straight quarters . . . Defensive endJabaal Sheard returned for the first time since injuring his ankle against the Colts in Week 6. He had been limited in practice. Additionally, offensive lineman Chris Barker made his season debut. He was promoted from the practice squad Saturday night. The Patriots were without offensive linemen Sebastian Vollmer (concussion),Marcus Cannon (toe), and Tre’ Jackson (knee). The other inactives were receiverKeshawn Martin (hamstring), defensive lineman Trey Flowers, and safety Tavon Wilson.