Jahlani Tavai wasn’t able to make the trip with the Patriots to Cincinnati.
He was out for personal reasons, head coach Mike Vrabel said earlier in the week, declining to provide any further details.
After the Patriots hung on for a 26-20 win over the Bengals on Sunday, the team FaceTimed Tavai from the locker room. They had to deal with several injuries during the win, including rookie linemen Will Campbell and Jared Wilson having to leave the game early with lower body injuries.
But they added a ninth-straight victory to their NFL-best win streak and made some time to include Tavai in the postgame celebration.