New England Patriots 4 Downs Review: Week 8 vs Cleveland Browns

3rd Down: If Sanu plays, how effective will he be?

Mohamed Sanu dressed and hit the field for his first game in a Patriots uniform on Sunday against the Browns. After not having much time to familiarize himself with the playbook to make an immediate impact for the offense, he still played a significant number of snaps. There was no definite word on if he was going to play after not having much time to prepare for the Browns.

He did indeed play, but just how much was he able to contribute?

He finished the game with two catches for 23 yards on five targets. His longest reception went for 19 yards and included a crucial catch to convert a fourth down into a first down. This was a decent start to his career in a New England Patriots uniform.

Quarterback Tom Brady had the following to say about Sanu in his postgame press conference, again via the Patriots website:

"“You know, I think we’re just going to try to find ways to keep incorporating everybody. He worked really hard this week to really get up to speed and to play as much as he did. I think it’s just going to be more and more confidence as he keeps going. He made a huge catch for us on fourth down, had a good crosser that he made a nice catch on, so keep just trying to find ways to get him the ball.”"

After the game, Sanu also spoke to the media. Asked what it meant to have Brady’s trust on the crucial fourth down conversion, here’s some of his response, again via the team website:

"“It was great. We actually talked about that early in the week and he said to be alert and we were on the same page.”’"