New England Patriots: 3 Week 3 NFL matchups to watch and admire
The New England Patriots have their hands full in their NFL Week 3 matchup when Sean Payton, Alvin Kamara, Jameis Winston and the New Orleans Saints come marching into town.
While much of the NFL media seems to be skipping onto that Week 4 matchup with the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers that will feature a reunion with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, the focus is on getting it done against the Saints.
Mac Jones, who is coming off another mistake free showing, has a challenge ahead of him facing a Saints’ defense that will feature one of the top cornerbacks in the game in Marshon Lattimore and pass rush specialist Cameron Jordan coming off the edge.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones ready to be unleashed?
Will this be the week the Patriots unleash Jones?
The quarterback said earlier in the week that he will still take what the defense gives him, which is the smart approach for a young quarterback. But, given what does lay ahead of them the following week, the Patriots must put together a complete game offensively and defensively against the Saints to improve their record to 2-1.
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As a 3-point favorite entering the game, there is not much room for error against a well-coached Saints team coming off a loss.
So, while Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots look to take care of business at Gillette Stadium, here are three other NFL Week 3 matchups to watch and admire.
NFL Week 3: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) vs Los Angeles Rams (2-0)
Let’s start with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After putting on scoring onslaughts against the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons, that Bucs’ defense will be challenged going up against Matthew Stafford and the Rams, who have been putting on a show offensively themselves.
In a battle of two undefeated teams, the man battle will be that Buccaneers offense vs the Rams’ defense with the best defensive player in the game coming off the edge in the name of Aaron Donald.
You better believe Belichick will be watching how the Rams attack the Brady-led offense and how the Rams attack the Bucs defense. With Tampa’s secondary being an area of weakness, seeing how Stafford pushes the ball down the field may give the Patriots more motivation to let Jones go down field more.
Other than seeing how old friends Brady and Gronkowski do, another reason for Patriots fans to have interest in this one is seeing another ex-Patriots perform in Sony Michel.
NFL Week 3: Washington Football Team (1-1) vs Buffalo Bills (1-1)
After what the Bills did to the Miami Dolphins a week ago, it is a safe bet that they will take care of the Washington Football Team, but New England Patriots fans should be rooting for a Bills’ loss in this one.
With both teams tied with a 1-1 record, an upset would be ideal if you are a Pats fan as long as they take care of business against the Saints.
Of course, Josh Allen and the Bills are heavy favorites in this one and it is unlikely WFT will have a chance going into Buffalo and upending the AFC East rivals, but any given Sunday in the NFL strange things can happen.
If WFT, who are 7.5-point underdogs according to WynnBet, are to have a shot, it will come on defense. They have to get pressure on Allen like the Pittsburgh Steelers did in their 23-16 victory over the Bills in Week 1.
NFL Week 3: Miami Dolphins (1-1) vs Las Vegas Raiders (2-0)
The Dolphins are coming off a 35-0 loss to those Buffalo Bills and will also be without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa when they travel to Vegas to take on the undefeated Raiders.
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Obviously, New England Patriots fans are rooting for Derek Carr and the Raiders to increase their record.to 3-0 and as a result drop the Phins to 1-2 on the season. Again, despite how the Raiders are playing, this one is no sure thing for Las Vegas. The Dolphins will have Jacoby Brissett under center which could have the Raiders’ defense on their heels if they are not prepared for what Brian Flores throws at them.
In all, this is a game to keep an eye on just to see how the Dolphins respond to being without their starting quarterback. As for the overall AFC picture, this game may also tell if the Raiders are for real.