When the football world thinks of the Patriots versus Saints matchup for the past decade, we think of the duel at quarterback between Tom Brady and Drew Brees. In 2021 however, one quarterback has taken his talents to Florida like Lebron, and the other is retired and covering football on TV every Sunday night. Therefore, the matchup for week 3 will likely be determined by the battle of head coaches between Bill Belichick the defensive guru, and Sean Payton the offensive genius. In this article, we examine five interesting points as we preview this matchup.
1. Patriots looking to build momentum: The Patriots took advantage of the rookie quarterback Zach Wilson in week two by forcing four interceptions and a blowout win. They will be looking to take advantage of the inconsistent play of Jameis Winston to start this season. After scoring throwing for five touchdowns in week 1 and countless overreactions by pundits, Winston regressed badly in week 2 by throwing two interceptions. He completed only 11 of his 22 passes for 111 yards. On offense, look for the Patriots to protect their rookie quarterback Mac Jones by running the football but look for Belichick to make Mac throw it a bit more and down the field with the Buccaneers on the horizon for next week.
2. Saints look to rebound: The Saints’ season started with a drubbing of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers followed by the dud against the Panthers. The jury is still out on the ability of Jameis Winston to replace Drew Brees long-term. Season Payton needs to protect Winston after suffering four sacks last week. Also, the quarterback needs to help himself by getting the ball out quicker. Payton must also find a way to make Alvin Kamara start producing in the run game. Last week, the 4-time Pro Bowl running back had only 8 carries for 5 yards. On defense, the Saints need to stop the run, and the Patriots had issues blocking on the offensive line with the injury to Trent Brown leading to 3 sacks on Mac Jones. The Saints’ run defense showed their potency in week 2 by holding Christian McCaffery to 72 yards from 24 rushes.
3. Head to Head Record: according the football database, this Sunday will be the fifteenth matchup between the Saints and the Patriots. New England dominates the matchup historically with a 10-4 record. At home, the Patriots have a 5-3 record overall and are 3-0 since 2000 against the said opposition. Their most recent matchup took place in 2017 when the Patriots won in New Orleans 36-20.
4. Stat-Patriots Love the NFC: The New England Patriots are 59-17 versus NFC teams since the league underwent realignment in 2002. It means the team has a win percentage of 77.6%, and it is the best inter-conference record in the NFL during that period.
5. Bold Prediction: The Patriots need to win this game and get above .500 to ease the pressure of the upcoming heavyweight tilt against Brady and Gronk. Mac Jones will deliver a solid performance, and like last week the game will come down to whether Jameis Winston can protect the football while driving his team down the field. I think the Patriots get at least a couple more turnovers and get the win.
Final score Patriots 27-Saints 19.
