5 New England Patriots thrust into the spotlight Week 5 vs Broncos
The New England Patriots will go into Week 5 vs the Denver Broncos with these 5 players thrust into the spotlight.
Coming off a tough Monday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots prepare for another Monday night matchup (game has been moved to next Sunday) against the Denver Broncos without two of their best players.
With the game pushed back to Monday due to Stephon Gilmore testing positive for COVID-19, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is faced with the challenge of not only playing possibly without Cam Newton and his best defensive player, he has the challenge of getting his team prepared for the Week 5 matchup against the Broncos on a very short week of practice.
In what has already been a season of adjustments, Belichick feels his team his highly prepared to hurdle yet another obstacle.
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"“Yeah, as I said, they’ve done a good job of adjusting all year,” Belichick said during his conference call on Saturday. “We’ve done things differently this year than we’ve ever done them before or probably anybody’s ever done them before. So, they’ve done an excellent job of adjusting and adapting. We’ve had to make some last-minute changes and adjustments to our schedule, to our routine. It’s been hard to get into a routine, which is something I think that you always develop during every season – you can pick out almost any hour and minute of the day during the course of a week and know what you’re doing.”"
With the status of Cam Newton still up in the air, the New England Patriots will look to get back in the win column entering their bye week. Here are five players thrust into the spotlight who must step up to lead the team to, in the words of Matthew Slater, the “sweet nectar of victory” over the Denver Broncos.
Update: This game has been moved to next Sunday. This list will be updated to reflect a Week 6 game vs Week 5.
Broncos-Patriots game is being moved to next Sunday, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 11, 2020
Broncos were supposed to play Miami; that won’t happen. That game is being rescheduled.
Julian Edelman must be Julian Edelman
With the way the New England Patriots defense played against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, that side of the football is not a major concern going up against the Denver Broncos even without Stephon Gilmore.
The offensive side of the football is what will win this game for the Patriots and it all starts with Julian Edelman.
Although the team will probably feature the run game, Edelman has to be that reliable outlet that he has been known to be. Whether it is Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham or Brian Hoyer taking the snaps, the veteran wide receiver can’t afford the drops he had against the Chiefs.
While there may be some injury concern, as he has popped up on the injury report listed as questionable with a knee issue, his head has to be in the game as a spark for the New England Patriots offense.
In other words, the Patriots need the Julian Edelman who balled it out against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 of the NFL season.