Patriots bench Barmore for opening quarter in home win over Browns

Christian Barmore sat out the first quarter of the New England Patriots’ 32-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium on Sunday after head coach Mike Vrabel said he made a disciplinary decision to bench the defensive tackle for the opening 15 minutes. Barmore, 26, did not appear on the team’s injury report and entered the game at the start of the Browns’ third possession in the second quarter.

Vrabel acknowledged the move in his postgame remarks. "I had to make a decision. My job is to protect the team, so when there are actions that I do not feel are commensurate with what we want to do here, I have to make a decision," he said. The coach added that the team would move on after the action. The Patriots later posted video of Vrabel greeting players in the tunnel and embracing Barmore after the win.

Barmore played his typical allotment of snaps after returning, recording one tackle and generating pressure that factored into a safety in the fourth quarter when Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel was penalized for intentional grounding in the end zone. An analytics firm charted Barmore with a team-high six pressures in just 30 defensive snaps. He had started each of...