Jabrill Peppers is sticking to the company line despite the Patriots having the perfect excuse to ditch it

The New England Patriots have not had it easy to start the season.

Every team suffers from injuries, but it truly has felt like the Patriots can't catch a break. However, captain Jabrill Peppers refuses to let that be an excuse for the team's three straight losses.

"We just got to keep finding ways to get better. Like I said, you can't make no excuses for yourself. Everybody deals with injuries, next man up," he told reporters after Sunday's game. "You got to play big, he got to come in there as if he planned on starting in the game. So we just got to keep chomping at the bit and keep finding ways to get better because right now, this isn't good enough."

Going into the game, there was a question about whether TE George Kittle, WR Deebo Samuel, and LT Trent Williams would play. While they were all active on Sunday, the team was still missing star running back Christian McCaffery, who is on IR.

"Next man up. They missing McCaffery, Kittle and Deebo were dealing with injuries, so no one cares," Peppers explained. "Next man up. Got to go out there and perform, that's really it."

And when looking at someone who has embraced the next man up mentality, 49ers' Jordan Mason fits the bill. In three games this season, he already has 91 carries for 447 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. He's on track to completely shatter his stats from the prior two seasons.

As for the Patriots, they have nobody who has truly taken advantage of their increased opportunity.

The team lost linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley to a possible season-ending injury, along with outside linebacker Oshane Ximines who tore his ACL in Week 2, ESPN's Mike Reiss reported. OLB Anfernee Jennings was ruled out prior to the game, and in the loss, Kyle Dugger also left early. He was seen in a walking boot on his right foot, according to the Boston Globe's Christopher Price.

"Losing those guys definitely hurt," Peppers admitted. "They're big parts of the defense, but at the end of the day, whoever fills in has to play big and he has to know what to do and how to do it as effectively as the rest of the guys who's before them."

He made his final message very clear.

"No excuses. Everyone deals with injuries. It's part of the game. Just got to keep finding ways to get better... No one's going to feel sorry for you. We're not going to feel sorry for ourselves. Just got to right the ship. It's still early in the year."