The New England Patriots are coming off their best win in recent memory in Week 5 after they defeated their division rival Buffalo Bills, for the first time in a meaningful game since 2021. This week, however, poses a much different challenge for New England as they travel again this week to New Orleans to play against the Saints for the first time since 2017 in an unfamiliar matchup for Week 6.
Last week, my key to the Patriots' defeat of the Bills was the defense stopping the run, led by the defensive line that has a top pressure rate going up against the top rushing offense. It worked out well in Week 5, and it should continue this season as the Patriots are only allowing 85.6 rushing yards per game. the fourth-best in the NFL.
This week, for the Patriots to defeat the Saints, it’s going to come down to the Patriots being efficient in these two areas: not getting fooled on disguised coverages and not getting beaten on deep routes by the speed of the Saints’ wide receivers.
Patriots Must Capitalize on Big Plays, Limit Saints' Opportunities
On offense, it’s going to be important for quarterback Drake Maye to pick apart the match-zone coverages that New Orleans’ defense is using this season. A way to combat this is by the receivers finding the soft spots in the zone, which will only be open for a very small window of time, and using crossing routes to chip their way up the field.
Another possibility is to hit a deep shot at the same moment of the defensive switch. There’ll be another small window of time to hit the receiver during this switch, as the receiver can get behind the defensive back at this time.
The Saints’ have a top passing defense that allows only 204 yards per game, which ranks ninth in the NFL this season.
On defense, it’ll be essential for the Patriots not to get beaten on the deep routes despite New Orleans only having one explosive play this season. Wide receiver Rashid Shaheed has the second-most receptions of 40+ yards since entering the league in 2022 (16), only behind Tyreek Hill (21).
Although their offense is still getting itself together with their own second-year quarterback in Spencer Rattler, the Saints can still hit the big plays with Shaheed and Chris Olave, despite it not happening too much for them yet this season.
That said, the Patriots' defense is giving up the fourth-most passing yards per game (242.2) and sits in the middle of the pack for total yards allowed per game (327.8). Continuing with the status quo could come back to bite them.
If the Patriots win, it’ll be the first time that they have won the first three road games to start the season since 2021.