The New England Patriots are coming off their best win of the season in Week 4. If these players have a solid performance, the Pats will walk away with another victory.
The New England Patriots are on an emotional high. New England absolutely crushed the Miami Dolphins, and are looking to have a similar outing in Week 5.
It won’t be easy for the Patriots to replicate such a great performance. The Indianapolis Colts are much better offensively and are worthy opponents.
The Patriots will be getting a major upgrade on offense. Julian Edelman is returning from his 4 game suspension and should revitalize the Patriots passing game.
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Week 5 will be an interesting measuring stick for this years team. They have yet to have back to back quality performances. They need to start showing that they are a team that can make it to the Super Bowl.
So here are 3 players to watch on Thursday night.
1. Julian Edelman
I’m interested to see what Julian Edelman can do in his first week back from his 4 game suspension. This will be Edelman’s first regular season game in over a year after tearing his ACL.
Edelman should completely change the Patriots offense. In the first 4 weeks of the season, we saw the lack of depth at wide receiver. Tom Brady had no one to throw to and it led to some poor performances.
With Edelman back, the other Patriots should have more opportunities to get open since the focus will be on Edelman. This will also help Rob Gronkowski have an easier time getting open.
The thing is that nobody knows what type of Julian Edelman we will be seeing. He is 32 years old and I don’t know if he will be able to make the same plays that he used to before his knee injury. Edelman didn’t look amazing in the preseason so he will have a lot to prove on Thursday night.
2. Phillip Dorsett
Phillip Dorsett is coming off a great game in Week 4. Dorsett had 4 catches for 55 yards and one amazing touchdown catch.
Dorsett is now facing his former team and has something to prove.
I also think that Dorsett may benefit the most from Julian Edelman coming back. Dorsett was the only receiver who showed up in the first 4 weeks of the season.
Now with Edelman back, opposing defense’s can’t put their top corner on Dorsett. Dorsett will face lesser talent and should definitely take advantage.
I’m expecting a big game from Dorsett on Thursday night. He has something to prove and he should still get plenty of targets. I don’t know if he will have a somersault catch like in Week 4, but I think he should snag another touchdown catch.
If Dorsett can continue to churn out quality performances he could have one of the best seasons of his career.
3. Deatrich Wise Jr.
Deatrich Wise Jr. has been one of the Patriots top pass rushers this season. With Trey Flowers out in Week 3, we got to see how great Wise is.
In Week 4 Flowers was back and Wise didn’t have that much of an impact in the stat sheet. I expect a nice comeback this week.
Wise is definitely one of the Patriots best pass rushers. He has 2.5 sacks this season which makes him the team leader.
If the Patriots want to be succesful on Thursday night they need to cause pressure in the pocket. If you give Andrew Luck time he can pick a defense apart. If the Patriots are able to knock Luck down it could be a long night for Colts fans.
Hopefully Wise will get back on the stat sheet and the New England Patriots will head into a Week 6 battle with the Kansan City Chiefs with momentum on their side.