3 Bets to Make After Patriots’ Signing of Ezekiel Elliott
By Tyler Maher
The Patriots gave their offense a much-needed boost earlier this week by signing Ezekiel Elliott, giving them another potent running back to pair with Rhamondre Stevenson. While the team could still use help at wide receiver and cornerback, a strong defense and a powerful running game should give them a high floor heading into 2023, especially if Mac Jones bounces back under new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.
With New England’s outlook for the upcoming season looking a bit brighter after the Zeke signing, it’s a good time to place some futures bets on the Pats. Sportsbooks are still relatively down on the team after its disappointing 8-9 campaign in 2022, meaning there could be some good value to exploit.
With so many betting options to consider, here are three bets to make on New England right now.
3 Patriots Bets 2023
1. Patriots OVER 7.5 Regular Season Wins
I was already mashing the Over on this one before the Pats signed Zeke, and now I feel even better about it.
Do the Patriots play in a tough division? Yes. Are they a perfect team? Definitely not.
That said, they could still be a good team, more like the one that went 10-7 in 2021 as opposed to last year’s 8-9 fiasco. Their defense should be one of the better units in the league, their run game is potent and they’ll be well-coached, which gives them a chance to win every game.
To me, the biggest key is that New England still managed to win eight games last year in spite of how many things went wrong. The offensive coordinator situation was a nightmare, obviously, and Jones wasn’t fully healthy. Throw in the quarterback controversy and the bizarre losses (i.e. the lateral game), and it’s a miracle that the Patriots were still in the playoff hunt until the end of the season.
A lot of those issues should be cleared up this year, so there’s obvious room for improvement. It’s also worth noting that Bill Belichick has never had back-to-back losing seasons during his time with New England, which reflects his ability to make the necessary adjustments and course corrections from season to season. Even if the Patriots are merely a .500-ish team again, they should still win at least eight or nine games and cash the Over.