Patriots Have A Sneaky Must Win On Sunday

By Steve Atkinson 

With Aaron Rodgers now out for the season the AFC East has gotten easier for the Patriots. They face the Jets in week 3 but have a crucial matchup with the Dolphins on Sunday. It really would be nice if the Patriots bounced back beat Miami on Sunday then beat the Jets a week from Sunday. Miami is coming off a win over the Chargers but had to travel a lot this past week. Will Miami just look to show up Sunday and whatever happens happens? Possibly.

Tua is undefeated against the Patriots and definitely has better receivers than Mac Jones does. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle basically are the offenses that Tua just finds. The Patriots’ defense will have to play as it did in week 1 against the Eagles to stop elite receivers.

JuJu Smith-Schuster isn’t a top wide receiver according to the Boston Herald they reported that the Patriots don’t see him as a number 1,2, or 3 receiver. Like I wrote the other day Jakobi Meyers is the better option but Belichick was mad he talked about Patricia so Bill didn’t resign him.

So if the Patriots are out of DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Trent Brown what does Mac Jones have to work with? Well, he’s got Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki, Boutte, and Douglas. Not the greatest lineup when you have Hill and Waddle that Tua will be throwing too. If Trent Brown is out that will definitely affect the offensive line who played well last week.

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick Speaks Highly Of The Dolphins

Bill Belichick spoke highly about the Dolphins operation this week.

Really explosive game against the Chargers last week, scoring with a penalty with nine seconds to go in the half, ends up being a two-point game, and then they make the stop with, really, three out of four sacks in the last four plays of the game, so a pretty impressive ending defensively with their pass rush and defensive play-making and stopping ability. So, interesting to see this team, the way they’ve come together and the way they’ve dealt with the past couple of years

Patriots Quarterback Mac Jones on This Week’s Game

The Patriots have to get off to a fast start offensively. They can’t afford a slow start like last week with penalties and turnovers. Mac Jones spoke Wednesday about his teammates seeing him as a tough player.

Yeah, I take a lot of pride in that, but just standing in there, taking shots if I have to. Just continuing to grow in that matter, I’ve always felt like, as a quarterback, you have to show that in your own way. Some guys do it differently than others, but you also have to be smart. This is a league full of a lot of really good players, and they’re coming to knock your head off. So, you’ve got to make sure to show that passion, and show it in unique ways. For me, it’s standing in the pocket and ripping it.

Mac also touched on playing against his former Alabama teammate Tua. The debate of who you would rather have Tua or Mac has surfaced. At the moment although Tua has the better receivers Mac in my opinion has more upside and can stay on the field. Tua can’t and has had some injuries over the years with concussions.

 Like you said, I never try to focus on that part of it. It’s really us against the defense, which, Miami has a really good defense. Yeah, I have a lot of respect for the guys that I played with in college. They’ve done a great job in the NFL. I learned a lot from each one of them differently, some things from one guy and some things from another. So, it’s been good to learn.

I think the Patriots win on Sunday night. Even with possibly a weaker offensive line than last week if they can correct the mistakes of the Eagles game and get off to a fast start they should be good.