The New England Patriots enter Week 6 with the chance to win their first three road games to start a season since 2021. Sunday's matchup will mark the first time that the Patriots are playing the New Orleans Saints since 2023, as well as the franchise's first visit to the Big Easy since 2017.
Although it doesn't look like it on paper due to their record, the Saints are not a team for the Patriots to play with their food with, as it could quickly become a reality check game for New England.
Here are notes, takeaways, and concerns from the week as the Patriots look to extend their success in Week 6.
Patriots Offensive Notes
Second-year quarterback Drake Maye continues to improve each week, and it shows with his play on the field. He's completed 113 passes for 1,261 yards and seven touchdowns (with only two interceptions) so far, all while racking up 110 rushing yards and two more scores on 27 carries. He's also thrown two TDs in three of the last four games.
The Patriots' rushing offense needs to improve for the offense to really be ignited, as they currently rank 27th in the NFL with 95.2 rushing yards per game and 28th with 3.7 yards per attempt this season.
New England, however, is right in the middle of the pack of total offense with 336.6 yards per game and ranks in the upper echelon of the league with 15 total touchdowns (9th) and 125 total points scored (11th).
With a stronger and consistent run game, the Patriots' offense should become more whole as Maye continues to lead them each week.
Patriots Defensive Notes
Although it might not look like it in certain areas, the Patriots' defense is improving each week. They have the fourth-best run defense (85.6 yards per game) and are only allowing opponents to score 20.2 points per game, which is ninth in the NFL after five weeks.
It's the passing defense that needs to tighten up, as the Patriots are giving up the seventh-most passing yards per game (242.2). Starting with the linebackers, Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss struggle in pass coverage, combining for 30 completions on 32 targets for 291 yards.
The pass coverage from the cornerbacks has also been spotty to start the season, but it is starting to get better with the return of Christian Gonzalez, who's only played in two games so far this season.
New England's cornerbacks have allowed 43 receptions on 67 targets, which is good for a 64.1% completion rate. It's still only a small sample size with Gonzalez, but the Patriots are getting what they expected by having Gonzalez and Carlton Davis on the corners.
- Carlton Davis: 11 completions on 22 targets, 50% completion.
- Christian Gonzalez: 4 completions on 8 targets, 50% completion.
The Patriots will need to tighten up their pass coverage to defeat the Saints, as WR Rashid Shaheed has a 50% success rate and a 73.3% catch percentage. Additionally, Chris Olave currently ranks second in the league with 54 targets.
Patriots Special Teams Notes
The Patriots' special teams unit continues to be the best in the league. They are the only team this season with a kickoff return for a TD and a punt return for a TD so far after five weeks.
Having said that, this will be the first week without their top return man in Antonio Gibson, who tore his ACL on a kick return last week against the Buffalo Bills.
It’s important to note that rookie kicker Andy Borregales has been phenomenal after a slow start to the season. He missed one field goal in Week 1 and two extra points in Week 2, but he hasn’t missed since.
On that same note, punter Bryce Baringer has been one of the best in the league this season, averaging 49.1 yards per punt with seven of his 17 punts landing inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He booted a punt that went 73 yards in Week 5, which is currently the second-longest in the NFL this season.
Patriots Injury Report
Vrabel started his Friday press conference by announcing the injury designations for Week 6, with three players already listed as out, while another three are questionable for the game.
- Jaylinn Hawkins, OUT (hamstring)
- Anfernee Jennings, OUT (ankle)
- Keion White, OUT (elbow)
- Christian Gonzalez, questionable (hamstring). He was a limited participant all week in practice, and Vrabel said that he will be a game-time decision up to 90 minutes ahead of kickoff on Sunday.
- Marte Mapu, questionable (neck, hamstring). He logged a full practice on Wednesday but was limited for the rest of the week. Mapu has been managing this neck injury dating back to last year.
- Charles Woods, questionable (knee)
Throughout the week, K’Lavon Chaisson (knee), Christian Barmore (NIR), Joshua Farmer (ankle), Mike Onwenu (shoulder, thigh), and Milton Williams (ankle) were all on the injury report as well.
Patriots Transactions
- Jashaun Corbin signed to the practice squad as the corresponding roster move due to Gibson's season-ending injury.
- Royce Newman (OL) was released from the practice squad.
Other Notes & Takeaways
- Jahlani Tavai was activated from injured reserve last week and played 22% of the defensive snaps and 52% on special teams.
- Brenden Schooler’s role could increase to more than just special teams, Vrabel said Friday.