New England Patriots: 3 bold predictions for the upcoming season

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Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

New England Patriots bold prediction No. 2: The Pats beat the Bucs in Week 4

One of the most anticipated games on the NFL calendar in the Week 4 matchup between the Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be the first time Tom Brady faces off against his old team since he left for Tampa Bay, and his return to Gillette Stadium has been met with great fanfare so far. At one point, the cheapest ticket prices soared over $1000 per seat.

Considering the Bucs are defending Super Bowl champions, and the Patriots are still trying to find their next quarterback after Brady’s departure, not many people think the Patriots will pull out a win in this game. But it may not be as improbable as it may initially seems for New England to pull out a victory in this contest.

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Think about it; nobody on this planet knows Brady’s tendencies as a passer than head coach Bill Belichick. You can bet he’s going to come up with an elaborate gameplan to try to slow down his old quarterback. And here’s to betting that he’s able to pull it off.

Even if he does that, the offense is going to have to pull their weight in this one too. Last time we saw Tampa Bay’s defense in action they were throwing Patrick Mahomes around like a rag-doll in the Super Bowl on their way to a dominant victory. It makes sense to think if they can slow down Mahomes, they can slow down a rookie quarterback in Jones who will only have three games under his belt by the time this game rolls around.

But the Patriots offensive gameplan will almost certainly not revolve around Jones in this one. The Bucs have an extremely deep defense, but their defensive line is one of their weaker spots on the unit. New England would be wise to attack Tampa Bay on the ground rather than force Jones to try to beat them himself.

Admittedly, Tampa Bay’s run defense last season was the best in the league, but this was largely a product of them jumping ahead of opposing teams and forcing them to play catch up the entire time. That typically doesn’t involve a lot of running plays. It may seem a bit far-fetched, but I wouldn’t put it past the Pats to pull out a surprise Week 4 victory against the Buccaneers.

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