Patriots only had 10 men on defense, and this happened vs Panthers

Who needs 11 men on defense when your 10-men team has a playmaker like Deatrich Wise Jr.?

The New England Patriots found themselves in a precarious situation on defense in the opening drive of Thursday’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. It was on 3rd-and-7 for a potential drive-killing play in the first minute of the game.

And the Patriots only had 10 men on the field.

It’s unknown if they knew about the mistake because they didn’t call a timeout. They ended up playing it out, and Wise came flying off the edge for the sack on quarterback Jack Plummer.

This was obviously a major mistake by the Patriots, and they’re fortunate the Panthers weren’t able to exploit it. But then again, when you have one of the best defensive units in the league, you can get away with things other teams can’t.