FOXBOROUGH — With the over-under set at just 33.5 points, oddsmakers think Sunday’s game in the Meadowlands will be an absolute.
The Patriots currently sit 31st in scoring offense. The only team scoring fewer points? You guessed it: The New York Giants. So how will things shake out at MetLife Stadium?
Here are three predictions for Patriots-Giants:
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1. Mac Jones starts
For whatever reason, Bill Belichick is playing his quarterback situation extremely close to the vest. After benching Mac Jones for Bailey Zappe in Germany, the coach has refused to name a starter or commit to either quarterback.
“I’ve told everybody to be ready to go,” Belichick said. “Hopefully that’s what they’re all doing. I’m not going to announce starters at every position or backups — whatever. Everybody will be ready to go.”
Jones said he was hopeful that he’d start and believed it was “the plan.” If that is indeed the plan, Belichick still isn’t sharing it. The coach was asked on Friday morning whether he’d personally made a decision on who his quarterback will be.
“I’ve told everybody to be ready to go,” Belichick repeated.
If the keys to the kingdom were going to Zappe — or Will Grier, or Malik Cunningham — it would have made sense to pull the trigger earlier in the week and give him the lion’s share of the practice reps. That hasn’t happened.
So the bet here is that it’s (somehow) still Jones’ show.
2. J.C. Jackson snares an INT
After missing curfew and being left home from the team’s trip to Europe, J.C. Jackson has seemingly said and done all the right things.
“Reality check – I’m not bigger than the team. I’m not bigger than nobody in here,” Jackson told Mark Daniels earlier this week. “This is a team sport and I have to do whatever everybody else is doing. I want to be a part of the team. This is my team. This is home for me, man. This is where I want to be. I don’t want to go nowhere else. I want to finish my career here also. I’ve just got to continue to build that leadership each and every day. It just stinks for me – I kind of played a lot of football. I know what to do at this point.”
On the practice field, Belichick said he was pleased with how the cornerback has responded, too.
“J.C.’s been good,” Belichick said. “He’s been good. He’s practiced well. Ready to go. Competed well.”
With Jack Jones jettisoned, it seems likely that Jackson will play quite a few snaps on Sunday afternoon, and with Tommy DeVito slinging the football, the 28-year-old ballhawk feels poised to get back in the interception column.
3. The Patriots actually win
For better or worse — depending on how you feel about the 2024 NFL Draft — Belichick knocks off Brian Daboll in the Meadowlands. For all of his faults with this roster’s construction, Belichick is still a terrific defensive coach who should make good sport out of hexing DeVito.
The Patriots win an ugly one, 20-19, and improve to 3-8 on the season.
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