The New England Patriots are set for what should be a telling Week 3 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Both teams have shown flashes of potential throughout the first two weeks of the regular season, while also struggling to find consistency at the same time. They also both happen to be in the early stages of replacing their legendary franchise quarterbacks.
It’s safe to say the Patriots and Saints are both in very similar positions this season, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in this one. The Patriots would be be wise to pick up a win against the Saints now, especially considering they are set for a primetime showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week.
Most fans are focused on the quarterback matchup of Jameis Winston and Mac Jones. That will probably be a recurring theme this season for the Patriots with Jones at the helm, but the added layer of both quarterbacks trying to replace the longtime greats at their respective franchises certainly adds to the excitement. Truth be told however, that’s just one of the many interesting matchups we have at our hands this week.
One of those matchups will be happening on the sidelines between head coaches Bill Belichick and Sean Payton. Both coaches will be looking to pick up a win after a couple of disappointing results to start the season, and it should make for some great football. Here are three bold predictions for the Patriots Week 3 contest against the Saints, starting with the Pats rookie quarterback.
New England Patriots Bold Prediction No. 3: Mac Jones has up-and-down day
For the most part, rookie quarterback Mac Jones has been solid in his first two games with the Patriots. He’s kept his mistakes to a minimum, and has put the team in position to win both of their first two games. Sure, he hits the checkdown receiver a bit too often now and then, but he really hasn’t had to take too many shots down field early on in the season, especially after they easily dispatched the New York Jets last week.
It’s interesting though, that Jones had a much better game against a tough Miami Dolphins secondary than he did against a relatively inexperienced Jets secondary. Albeit, Jones didn’t really have to air it out against New York, but he never looked totally comfortable in that game. Hopefully Jones has put that behind him, because the Saints are going to offer him quite a challenge tomorrow afternoon.
The Saints, similar to the Patriots, boast a very deep secondary led by star cornerback Marshon Lattimore and veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins. They feature a number of secondary options, such as Bradley Roby, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Desmond Trufant, that can come in and shut down opposing receivers as well. They will surely throw some looks at Jones that he hasn’t seen before.
Jones will probably be forced to air it out more often than not in this one considering the Saints have one of the better run defenses in the league through two games. How he handles the Saints experienced secondary will be key in determining how this game plays out.
Ultimately, Jones will have an erratic performance. He throws for 250 yards and two touchdowns, but he also throws his first two picks of the season, one of which comes in the red zone. It will ultimately be up to the defense to decide whether or not those interceptions come back to hurt the Pats in this one though.
New England Patriots Bold Prediction No. 2: J.C. Jackson has second straight multi-interception game
J.C. Jackson made a triumphant return in Week 2 against the Jets after struggling to contain the Dolphins wideouts in Week 1. Jackson picked off Zach Wilson twice in the contest, reaffirming his status as one of the best ballhawking cornerbacks in the game.
Jackson could be set to continue his intercepting ways against the Saints and their error prone quarterback in Winston. Winston threw 30 interceptions in his last season as a starter in 2019, so he’s certainly no stranger to making errant passes. Winston has claimed to have reinvented himself as a much more calculated passer, but was back to his old ways in Week 2 when he was picked off twice by the Carolina Panthers.
Winston is an enigma in a sense that some games he looks like an All-Pro, and others he looks like he doesn’t belong on an NFL roster. It remains to be seen which version of Winston shows up in this one, but it could ultimately determine whether the Saints sink or swim in this one.
With Michael Thomas out, the Saints are perilously thin at wide receiver. Marquez Callaway and Deonte Harris seem set to lead the way, with Jackson likely to spend his day shadowing Callaway for the most part. None of the Saints receivers have really stood out so far, so depending on how the game goes, matchups could change.
Either way, Jackson should be expected to lockdown whoever he finds himself in this game. Don’t be surprised if Winston gets jumpy due to his lack of options and fires a few picks in this one. The prediction here is that two of them will go to Jackson, as the New England Patriots do a good job shutting down Winston and the air game for the most part.
New England Patriots Bold Prediction No. 1: Defense can’t contain Alvin Kamara
Quite frankly, it won’t end up mattering whether or not the Patriots can slow down Winston. That’s because Alvin Kamara looms large in the Saints backfield, and he’s easily the most important player in this game on both sides of the ball.
Kamara is the most talented player in this contest, but his stats so far this season won’t tell you that. He only managed to pick up five yards on eight carries last week against the Panthers, which was easily the worst line of his career. The talented dual-threat back hasn’t really been utilized by New Orleans through the first two weeks, but you can bet on that changing against New England.
The Jets ground game assaulted the Patriots last week to the tune of 152 yards on 31 carries. If they can manage that, it’s hard to imagine what Kamara could do to this defense. If the Pats front seven gives Kamara room to operate, it’s going to be a long afternoon.
So far, there has been nothing we have seen that suggests Kamara won’t be in for a huge day tomorrow against New England. The Saints will be eager to get him more involved against a porous Patriots run defense, and they should be able to do that early and often. Even if he gets slowed down on the ground, don’t be surprised if he is one of Winston’s favorite targets in the passing game.
Kamara poses mismatches all over the field as a receiver, and you can bet the Saints will take advantage of that. He’s too fast for linebackers, and if you use a safety on him, you expose the back of your secondary. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Adrian Phillips try to shadow Kamara for most of this one, but that’s a big task to assign to just one player.
Kamara will be the difference in this one, as he will go for 150 total yards and two touchdowns. The New England Patriots inability to slow him down results in them taking a tough luck loss against the Saints, and they fall to 1-2 as a result. Final Score: Saints – 17, Patriots – 14