The New England Patriots are now attracting national media attention after winning its fourth consecutive game. Many analysts had written off this Patriots team after its 2-4 start to the season. They felt Bill Belichick had lost his touch, the free agents brought in were not good enough and their rookie quarterback Mac Jones was not as talented as the other four signal-callers picked ahead of him. This Patriots team has now converted doubters to believers. They seem to be out-coaching and outplaying their opponents week after week while having fun in doing so. After trouncing the Browns on Sunday, they head south to face the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football in a Super Bowl 51 rematch. On that memorable night, the Falcons led the game 28-3, and Tom Brady led the Patriots back for an improbable victory. Matt Ryan will see this game as revenge while the Patriots will want to keep the win streak alive. The following is a preview of the game and my score predictions.
1. The Patriots-the team heads into the matchup after a fantastic performance against the Browns. Mac Jones will look to pick up where he left off last week after making only four incompletions and having three touchdowns on the box score. He should have success against a Falcons defense that struggles to rush the quarterback and contain wide receivers. The Falcons’ defense failed to register a sack and are dead last in the NFL with just 11 sacks in the season. They are ranked 31st in the league in QB hits which means quarterbacks can feel comfortable and survey the pocket for the open receiver. The run defense did a reasonable job of containing the Cowboys running back duo to 114 yards on 37 carries. However, the Patriots run game is one of the best run offenses in the NFL and will be difficult to contain.
2. The Falcons- the Dirty Birds were horrific in week ten and were pummeled by the Cowboys 43-3. Matt Ryan had only 117 passing yards and two interceptions against an opportunistic Dallas defense. Ryan faces an elite-level Patriots defense who are shutting down receivers and taking the ball away. The pass rush overwhelmed a good Brown’s offensive line with five sacks and ten quarterback hits. Look for Belichick to negate the damage from the Falcon’s number one target in Kyle Pitts who has 40 catches, 606 yards, and 1 touchdown for the season. Bill usually takes away the best opposition-skill player, and the key will be locking down the rookie Tight End.
3. Head to Head matchup- This will be the 16th matchup between the Patriots and the Falcons. The Patriots lead the series all-time with nine wins and six losses. The Patriots have the edge based on recent matchups winning the last six meetings between the two teams. The last time the Falcons beat the Patriots was in 1998. The last time the Falcons beat the Patriots at home was before Mac Jones was born in 1995.
4. Stats- According to Boston Sports Info, Mac Jones is 1 of 2 rookie quarterbacks to complete 70% of his passes in 6 of his first 10 games. The only other rookie quarterback to achieve the feat is a guy named Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys. Most people also criticize the Patriots because of a lack of explosive plays on offense. However, the Patriots this season have 48 passes or running play that exceeds 20 yards, and they are only behind the Las Vegas Raiders.
5. Predictions-there a lot of analysts predicting that this game will be a blowout. However, the 2021-2022 season has been very unpredictable. I think the Patriots are the better team on both sides of the football than the Atlanta Falcons. I don’t think the game will be a blowout because the home crowd will demand a response from last week’s debacle. Therefore, I am picking the Falcons to keep it close, and then the Patriots will pull away in the fourth quarter.
Final Score Patriots 28-Falcons 17.