Matthew Slater limping badly

Boston Herald:

Special teams captain Matthew Slater limped badly out of the locker room tonight, which wasn’t a good sign for the valued player in the kicking game. Slater wasn’t on the field during Leon Washington’s 25-yard punt return that set up the Seahawks’ game-winning drive. Hard to imagine the Patriots surrender their longest return of the season if Slater was on the field. Slater entered the game with a team-high five special teams tackles, and he had two of their three stops tonight.

The good news it that Patrick Chung and Brandon Lloyd might've avoided serious injuries. However, the Slater news is kind of significant. He's the special teams captain, and really the best player on that squad.

When he's not there, bad things happen. As Jeff Howe of the Herald makes evident above.

I'm not really sure how Slater got hurt, but it looked like he pulled a hamstring while celebrating a special teams tackle. We'll wait for more details on that.

Not only did the Patriots lose, but the injuries are a real killer. Brandon Bolden also left with a knee injury during this game. No word on the severity yet.