The postseason has tested Will Campbell at every turn, having to go up against some of the league’s top pass rushers. That said, many are questioning his abilities, including longtime NFL analyst Greg Cosell, who has been paying close attention to Campbell’s postseason tape.

“Will Campbell in the two playoff games has been unable to pass protect one-on-one,” Cossell said on the Ross Tucker Podcast. “The Patriots know that; they’ve been helping him. He has struggled against different types of players.”

“He struggled against both [Khalil] Mack and [Odafe] Oweh against the Chargers; he clearly struggled this week against Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, and now he’s gonna get [Nik Bonitto], who’s a little different, but Bonitto is pretty good,” Cossell added.

The struggles are showing up pretty clearly. Against Will Anderson Jr. last week, Will Campbell gave up a team-high two sacks and four pressures, finishing with a 16.5 pass-blocking grade from PFF. Both strip sacks on Drake Maye came off the left side. Campbell did manage to recover two of those fumbles, but the damage had already been done.

Yet, in contrast to Cossell’s take, Josh McDaniels believes young players like Will Campbell are bound to face challenges, and each one is a chance to grow.

“It’s never a straight line,” he told reporters on Thursday. “I think Will’s—we have a lot of young players that are playing, and they’re a lot. I think there’s a lot that’s been learned over the last two games by a lot of people, and that’s a good thing. You’re never going to go into the playoffs as a young player and just dominate your matchup the entire time. That’s really difficult to imagine.”

The fans, on the other hand, have now started revisiting pre-draft evaluations that suggested Will Campbell might ultimately be better suited inside at left guard rather than on the edge. Right now, his play isn’t doing much to quiet that debate. One week earlier, he also had issues handling the Chargers’ pass rushers, giving up a sack and five pressures in the wild-card round.

Now comes the biggest test yet. Entering Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos, Campbell is facing another aggressive front, led by edge rusher Nik Bonitto and defensive tackle Zach Allen. Among all tackles who’ve started a game this postseason, Campbell owns the lowest PFF pass-blocking grade.

Over 782 snaps, he’s allowed five sacks and been flagged for seven penalties. But the LT didn’t downplay what’s ahead. He called Sunday’s matchup “the biggest challenge yet.” And as Cosell pointed out, that’s not an exaggeration. Bonitto, a two-time Pro Bowler, finished the regular season with 14 sacks.

It wouldn’t get much harder than this for Will Campbell. And yes, he is struggling. But this is a collective problem.

Drake Maye believes in his OL despite all the concerns

Will Campbell giving up two sacks last week on his side is pretty concerning. But pinning this all on the rookie wouldn’t be fair. The problems up front went deeper than one spot. Campbell and the rest of the offensive line struggled to hold up against Houston’s edge tandem of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, who combined for five sacks between them.

It wasn’t a one-off. The New England Patriots have surrendered 10 sacks over two playoff games, and Drake Maye has fumbled the ball six times in that span. Even so, the quarterback hasn’t turned on the group in front of him.

“I think one of the biggest things with the guys up front is it’s my job to have a timer in my head, and those guys have done a great job all year,” Maye said. “So, I haven’t lost trust in those guys up front, and I know that we faced some pretty good edge rushers in the past couple weeks.”

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Trust aside, this is the soft spot on an otherwise sturdy Patriots roster. The offensive line remains the lingering concern, with 10 sacks allowed in two playoff games. Over the season, they’ve given up 57 sacks in 19 games. Heading into a matchup with Denver while giving up nearly five sacks per game isn’t a formula that holds up for long. It will only get worse.

The Texans finished second in the league in pressure rate this season. Denver was right behind them at third. And it’s not just Nik Bonitto causing problems. Jonathon Cooper, John Franklin-Myers, and Zach Allen have all been productive, finishing the regular season with eight, 7.5, and seven sacks, respectively.

“Take care of the ball. Don’t let the quarterback get hit,” head coach Mike Vrabel said last week when asked what needed to improve.

It’s not a very hard assessment. There aren’t many glaring issues with this Patriots team right now. If they can clean this up, the idea of a Super Bowl run would get a lot more realistic.