The Patriots improved to an AFC-best 9-0 on Sunday with their last-second, 27-26 win over the Giants, but the victory comes at a cost: Wide receiver Julian Edelman broke a bone in his foot and will miss significant time, reports Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo (Twitter link).
Edelman left in the first half of Sunday’s game with an injury to fifth metatarsal, which could keep him out until at least the playoffs, per Garafolo (Twitter link). According to Dr. David Chao of SiriusXM (via Twitter), surgery is the quickest way to return from this injury – known as a “Jones fracture” – and, barring setbacks, the timetable for recovery should be approximately six to eight weeks. Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant suffered the same injury in Week 1 and returned in Week 8. Edelman will undergo surgery Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
The 29-year-old Edelman, who caught four passes for 53 yards against the Giants, leads the Pats in receptions (61) and is second in both yards (692) and touchdowns (seven). Prior to his injury, he was on pace to finish with at least 90 catches for the third straight year. He appeared primed to eclipse the 100-reception and 1,000-yard barriers for the second time each, and had already hauled in a career high in TDs. His loss comes on the heels of the season-ending ACL tear suffered last week by teammate Dion Lewis, a running back who was one of the Pats’ best weapons pre-injury. Of quarterback Tom Brady‘s 251 completions this season, 97 have gone to Edelman and Lewis.