Regardless of who lines up under center tonight, the recipe for a Patriots' victory is pretty much the same.
TURNOVERS- The Patriots have finally moved to +1 with the turnover differential. They did this in part by only having 3 turnovers in the last 3 games. This is a significant improvement from the Baltimore game in week 3 where they turned it over 4 times. Besides not having the offense cough up the ball, the defense has also caused some timely turnovers to stop scoring drives and other momentum.
PENALTIES- Twelve makes a dozen. Last week the Patriots had a literal dozen of penalties called against them. Nine of the twelve flags flew on offense. I'm sure that penalties, especially the pre-snap variety, was one of the things Belichick stressed this past week. As of right now Isaiah Wynn is leading the NFL with 7 flags.
​While it isn't called very often, both Mac and Zappe have been called for intentional grounding. In my opinion, both young quarterbacks need to work on the art of throwing the ball away. Prior to Mac going down with an ankle sprain, it seemed like he would throw it up for grabs instead of just getting rid of it.
PENALTIES- Twelve makes a dozen. Last week the Patriots had a literal dozen of penalties called against them. Nine of the twelve flags flew on offense. I'm sure that penalties, especially the pre-snap variety, was one of the things Belichick stressed this past week. As of right now Isaiah Wynn is leading the NFL with 7 flags.
​While it isn't called very often, both Mac and Zappe have been called for intentional grounding. In my opinion, both young quarterbacks need to work on the art of throwing the ball away. Prior to Mac going down with an ankle sprain, it seemed like he would throw it up for grabs instead of just getting rid of it.
KICKOFFS- This weekend I looked into what has happened on all of the Patriots' kickoffs. In general, I feel that we are better off playing for the touchback both when we are kicking and receiving. With the field and ball likely being a bit slick tonight, there's no sense in chancing an injury or turnover.
RUSHING- Heading into tonight's game, the Bears are second in the league with an average of 170.7 yards on the ground. Quarterback Justin Fields is the second leading rusher on the team. Considering Chicago is 32nd in passing yards (122.8), getting some yards with his legs is the least Fields can do. With some rainy weather and the game not likely to be a shootout, the Patriots will likely eclipse their average of 131 yards per game on the ground easily. I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots had both Stevenson and Harris close to the century mark.
SACKING THE QUARTERBACK- The Chicago offensive line hasn't been very protective of Fields. Six games into the season, he has been sacked 23 times. With injuries and guys just playing poorly, the Bears will have a shakeup on the line. Regardless, I expect to see Judon's red arms taking down Fields a time or two.
A FEW RANDOM STATS-
RUSHING- Heading into tonight's game, the Bears are second in the league with an average of 170.7 yards on the ground. Quarterback Justin Fields is the second leading rusher on the team. Considering Chicago is 32nd in passing yards (122.8), getting some yards with his legs is the least Fields can do. With some rainy weather and the game not likely to be a shootout, the Patriots will likely eclipse their average of 131 yards per game on the ground easily. I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots had both Stevenson and Harris close to the century mark.
SACKING THE QUARTERBACK- The Chicago offensive line hasn't been very protective of Fields. Six games into the season, he has been sacked 23 times. With injuries and guys just playing poorly, the Bears will have a shakeup on the line. Regardless, I expect to see Judon's red arms taking down Fields a time or two.
A FEW RANDOM STATS-
- The Patriots haven't surrendered a 4th down conversion at home this year
- The Bears' defense is horrible on the road with allowing a league worst 61% conversion rate on 3rd downs
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