New England Patriots: Week 3 a big test for the defensive line

With Trey Flowers out, Week 3 will be a major test for the New England Patriots.

The New England Patriots pass rush was less than stellar in Week 2. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles had all the time in the world and was tearing apart the Patriots defense. The d-line needs to bring some pressure against the Detroit Lions.

The Patriots will be without one of their best pass rushers in the Sunday night matchup. Trey Flowers is out with a concussion and that means some players will have expanded roles.

One player who needs to step up his play is Adrian Clayborn. Clayborn was brought in to get sacks and cause chaos in the backfield, and he has been rather unsuccessful. He may be getting by blockers, but he isn’t finishing the job.

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The Patriots didn’t grab Clayborn to just pressure the quarterback. They need him to stop running backs in the backfield and make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks. I hope to see Clayborn get on the stat sheet on Sunday night.

Another player who will have to step up is Deatrich Wise. I think this could be a big game for the 2nd year player. Last season Wise proved that he could be a great pass rusher. 5 sacks in your rookie year is pretty good.

Since Flowers is out I expect Wise to get a lot more playing time. Hopefully, he will make the most out of the extra snaps.

Finally, Patriots fans will get to see what Derek Rivers can do. Rivers was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2017 draft and showed some promise in the preseason.

This will be a big game for Rivers. If he wants to have any shot at an increased role he needs to have a great game. If he doesn’t rack up a few sacks he could just be stuck on the bench once again.

dark. Next. 3 defensive players who must step up vs. Lions

Hopefully, the New England Patriots defense learned from their Week 2 mistakes and dominate the Detroit Lions.

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