The New England Patriots are in unfamiliar territory ahead of their Week 6 game against the New Orleans Saints, and it might not be as easy as it seems to keep their winning streak intact.
The Patriots, coming off a potentially franchise-altering primetime win over the Buffalo Bills a week ago, face a different environment this time around in The Big Easy. They’ll have to do so with a compromised defense, too, with a pair of their top players on that side of the ball dealing with potentially lingering issues.
Cornerback Christian Gonzalez (hamstring) and defensive tackle Milton Williams (illness) are both active but will undoubtedly be monitored closely vs. New Orleans.
Williams was added to the injury report Sunday morning with an illness. He was on the injury report earlier in the week with an ankle injury that popped up in Week 5 but was good to go vs. the Bills. His snap count will be closely watched if he’s not feeling 100% .
Gonzalez, meanwhile, missed the first three games of the season with a hamstring injury before making his season debut in Week 4. After being removed from the injury report in Week 5, he reappeared this week and was listed as questionable by head coach Mike Vrabel. That obviously is the sort of injury that can be reaggravated during the game.
Here’s the full list of Patriots’ inactives for the Saints game.
Patriots Offense Getting By Despite Running Back Issues
New England might also get its first look at running back Terrell Jennings. New England activated the 24-year-old running back this week after putting veteran running back Antonio Gibson on injured reserve. Gibson tore his ACL in Buffalo, which tests the Patriots’ thin running back room, a group that has underachieved to this point in the season.
Ultimately, the Patriots hope it won’t be too much of an issue. New England quarterback Drake Maye has seemingly taken a major step forward. He had arguably the best game of his career against the Bills, completing 73.3% of his passes for 273 yards, including some major throws down the stretch that set up a game-winning field goal. Maye is among the NFL’s leaders in completion percentage this season, completing 74% of his passes with a 107.8 passer rating.
Also worth noting: Undrafted rookie Efton Chism III is active for the first time in his career. He could be a factor as a kick returner with Gibson out.
Patriots-Saints Betting Preview: New England in Rare Position
The injury uncertainty for the Patriots didn’t do much to change the betting line. New England is a 3.5-point road favorite at the Superdome, a line that has held strong throughout the week. This marks the first time since 2023 that New England is a road favorite. The last time the Patriots were laying points on the road came in November of 2023 as 4 1/2-point favorites against the New York Giants. The Patriots infamously lost that game on a late missed field goal, an outcome that undoubtedly helped land them Drake Maye in the draft a few months later.
The Patriots have only been road favorites six times since 2022, going 4-2 straight-up and 3-2-1 against the spread in those six contests.
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