Third Quarter Of The Season

Week 10 vs Baltimore Ravens

The Patriots go from the lowly Jets to the highflying Baltimore Ravens in Week 10. The Ravens owned the best record in football last season before being upset by the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round. So the Ravens are coming into 2020 with something even more to prove.

The Ravens have MVP Lamar Jackson going into his third season. He gave every single defense fits last season (except for the Titans) and with the Patriots again lacking at linebacker, they are going to have a difficult time containing the duel-threat QB. Baltimore also improved its defense by trading for defensive end Calais Campbell. It’s a nearly flawless team in Baltimore and New England will be one of their many victims, sliding their record to 4-5.

Week 11 at Houston Texans

Much like the Patriots, it’s a new beginning in Houston. Their franchise QB DeShaun Watson will still lead the offense, but they are no longer with star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, in a puzzling trade for the Texans with the Arizona Cardinals. In exchange, the Texans brought in David Johnson to replace Carlos Hyde at running back.

Johnson has failed to reach 1,000 yards in each of the three season after his stellar performance in 2016 and nothing is pointing to him reaching that potential yet again. Watson’s receivers are now Brandin Cooks/Will Fuller/Randall Cobb, which is far less dangerous than Hopkins. The defense will be okay for the Texans. The Patriots should be able to bounce back and get another W in the win column to get up to 5-5.

Week 12 vs Arizona Cardinals

Speaking of the DeAndre Hopkins trade, the Cardinals now have themselves one of the best wide receivers in the league to pair with the NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year in Kyler Murray. The combination of Hopkins, Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald makes for one of the best wide receiver corps in the NFC. The Cardinals also have Kenyan Drake for a running back, who excelled in Arizona after being traded from the Dolphins last season.

However it’s the defense that was the main focus in the offseason. The Cardinals already had star pass rusher Chandler Jones and a solid secondary with Patrick Peterson and Budda Baker. But now they filled some of the holes in their front seven by signing Devon Kennard and Jordan Phillips, and they drafted Isaiah Simmons with their No. 8 pick. But it won’t be enough to contain the Patriots’ offense and the Pats squeak out a close victory to move to 6-5.

Week 13 at Los Angeles Chargers

This has trap game written all over it for the Patriots. The Los Angeles Chargers are rebuilding with Justin Herbert set to take over as the quarterback. The team is no longer with Melvin Gordon, but Austin Ekeler appears to be a reliable option. Their defense will be a problem, with a strong secondary combination of Casey Hayward, Chris Harris Jr and Derwin James. Not to mention a dangerous Joey Bosa on the edge.

However with a young quarterback will come mistakes, and the Patriots secondary should be able to bait Herbert into making bad thorws and turning the ball over. The offense of the Chargers isn’t scary and while this could be a chance for the Patriots to blow out an opponent, they won’t, and instead escape with a slim victory to move to 7-5.