Patriots’ Mike Onwenu Addresses ‘Sloppy’ Offensive Line Play

The New England Patriots lost their preseason finale 20-10 to the Washington Commanders, further exposing the franchise’s biggest concern heading into Week 1 of the NFL season on Sept. 8 — the offensive line.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo admitted he is concerned with the “lack of discipline” the offensive line of Chukwuma Okorafor, Sidy Sow, Nick Leverett, Layden Robinson and Mike Onwenu showed during the loss after the referees had warned the players about illegal formations. Despite the warnings, New England was penalized four times for lining up incorrectly and 10 times total for 157 yards.

“It was a sloppy game overall,” Onwenu told reporters after the game. “Definitely by the tackles. I believe most of (the penalties) were on the tackles. We just got to look at the film and correct it. Obviously, it’s not how we practice, not how we train. So definitely want to get better on that aspect and don’t want to have that happen in the regular season.”

Onwenu said the referees told the tackles that they were lining up further back than the other players on the line, but he thought he had made the adjustments.

“I was lining up on my guard, on my center’s hip, making sure I was in alignment,” he explained. “But, they called it how they saw. I can’t do nothing about it, but definitely improve on it. Make sure I’m on the line.”

Despite the offensive line having obvious struggles in the preseason, Onwenu doesn’t feel the players have had difficulty establishing consistency in games.

“I don’t think it’s been difficult,” he said. “When you watch the tape, I think we moved the ball. We moved the defensive line, but definitely we have to have the good plays and keep consistently with the plays as in good, positive plays each play.”

Onwenu added he feels good about where the offensive line is as a group heading into the regular season.

“I think we are all cohesive, and we communicate and talk,” he said. “We hang out outside of football. I think we’re all close.”