The New England Patriots (2-0) take on the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) this week in a game that will feature the NFL’s leading passer, Tom Brady (754 yards, 7 TDs), and third-leading receiver, Rob Gronkowski (207 yards ). The Patriots are 2-0 while the Jaguars are currently 1-1. The game will air Sunday, Sep 27 at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
In last week’s game, New England got a win over Buffalo 40-32. Tom Brady had a great game through the air in the victory, connecting on 38 of 59 pass attempts for 466 yards and three TDs. Rob Gronkowski had a great game as well, adding 113 yards on seven catches. Jacksonville won last week, getting a close victory over Miami 23-20. Allen Robinson had a huge game for the Jaguars, grabbing six receptions for 155 yards. Blake Bortles also had a great game with 273 yards and two TDs through the air.
A close score is not projected this week when the Jaguars, a big 14-point underdog, take on New England. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of 48 points.
Sitting at 2-0 Straight Up (SU) and 1-0-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Patriots will look to improve heading into Week 3. They are averaging 34.0 points per game, second-best in the league. A focal point of New England’s offense is its passing game, which ranks first in the league with 366 passing yards per game. New England has a top-five scoring defense, which gives up 26.5 points per game. The Jaguars will need to stop New England’s defense from getting to their quarterback in order to be successful in this game. The Patriots lead the league in sacks with 5.5 per game. In the second quarter, New England is solid, putting up 12 points during the second frame.
Moving to the road team, the Jaguars head into Week 3 with records of 1-1 both ATS and SU. Other teams have a high rate of success running the ball against the Patriots. It might be in Jacksonville’s game plan to take advantage of {ht.name}’s inability to stop the run, a league-worst 5.7 yards per carry. Moving on to the Jacksonville defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Patriots. The Jacksonville defense has given opposing running backs issues this season. Opponents average 73.5 rushing yards per game against this terrifying unit. Few teams have been worse than New England at losing yardage through infractions. The Patriots have accumulated 91 penalty yards per game this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – NE, ATS Winner – NE, O/U – Under
Notes
New England is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
New England is 13-5-1 ATS in its last 19 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New England’s last 6 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 11 of New England’s last 16 games at home.
New England is 19-1 SU in its last 20 games at home.
New England is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Jacksonville.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New England’s last 5 games when playing Jacksonville.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New England’s last 5 games when playing at home against Jacksonville.
New England is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Jacksonville.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Jacksonville’s last 5 games when playing on the road against New England.
Jacksonville is 1-0 SU when leading at the half this season. New England is 2-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
The New England passing attack is ranked first in the league, while the Jacksonville pass defense is only ranked 20th. The Jaguars’ passing game is ranked 18th, compared to the 22nd-ranked pass defense of the Patriots.
Jacksonville has allowed 20.0 points per contest this year, which is ranked third in the league. New England has scored 34.0 points per game this year and is ranked second overall.
