The New England Patriots will travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to take on the Atlanta Falcons this Thursday night in NFL action.
The New England Patriots won their 4th straight game and improved to 6-4 on the season after defeating the Cleveland Browns, 45-7, this past Sunday. New England went down 7-0 early in this one, however, that is basically the only thing that went wrong for the Patriots as New England dominated the Browns on both ends of the field and pulled away after a 2-yard TD run by Rhamondre Stevenson gave the Patriots a 31-7 lead with 5:04 left in the 3rd quarter. New England outgained Cleveland by a 452-217 margin and won the turnover battle by a 1-0 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Patriots was QB Mac Jones who completed 19 of 23 passes for 198 yards & 3 TD.
On the season, New England is averaging 27.5 ppg on 371.2 total yards per game (256.7 passing yds/g; 114.5 rushing yds/g). Offensively, New England has been led by RB Damien Harris who has 547 rushing yards & 7 TD on 133 carries. Harris should be back for this game after missing the Cleveland game with a concussion, however, the Patriots still have a weapon in the backfield in Rhamondre Stevenson who had 100 rushing yards & 2 TD’s and the Browns if Harris can’t go. QB Mac Jones has completed 69.0% of his passes for 2333 yards (239.2 yds/g), 13 TD, & 7 INT. The top receiving threats for the Patriots have been Kendrick Bourne (33 rec, 520 yards, 3 TD), Jakobi Meyers (50 rec, 483 yards, TD), Nelson Agholor (24 rec, 356 yards, 2 TD), & Hunter Henry (31 rec, 353 yards, 7 TD).
Defensively, New England is holding their opponents to an average of 17.7 ppg on 344.7 total yards per game (236.8 passing yds/g; 107.9 rushing yds/g).
The Atlanta Falcons dropped to 4-5 on the season after being defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, 43-3, this past Sunday. Atlanta had no answers on either end of the field for Dallas and could not fight back after 28-unanswered points in the 2nd quarter gave the Cowboys a 36-3 lead heading into halftime. Atlanta was outgained by Dallas by a 431-214 margin and lost the turnover battle by a 3-1 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Falcons was WR Kyle Pitts who had 4 receptions for 60 yards.
On the season, Atlanta is averaging 19.8 ppg on 337.1 total yards per game (254.2 passing yds/g; 82.9 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Atlanta has been led by Matt Ryan who has completed 67.7% of his passes for 2274 yards, 15 TD, & 8 INT. The top receiving threats for the Falcons have been Kyle Pitts (40 rec, 606 yards, TD), Cordarrelle Patterson (39 rec, 473 yards, 5 TD), Calvin Ridley (31 rec, 281 yards, 2 TD), & Olamide Zaccheaus (15 rec, 194 yards, 3 TD). Leading the way for the Falcons backfield has been Cordarrelle Patterson (77 at, 303 yards, 2 TD), Mike Davis (88 att, 289 yards, TD), & Wayne Gallman (23 att, 88 yards).
Defensively, Atlanta is allowing their opponents to average 29.2 ppg on 378.4 total yards per game (256.3 passing yds/g; 122.1 rushing yds/g).
The Patriots are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 26-10 ATS in their last 36 games vs. a team with a losing record. The Falcons are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games in Week 11 and just 9-26 ATS in their last 35 games after allowing more than 250 yards passing in their previous game.
New England has suddenly become one of the better teams in the AFC as the offense is averaging 37.5 ppg over their last 4 games while their defense currently ranks 2nd in the NFL in scoring defense. Atlanta was able to pick up a nice win against New Orleans recently, however, this is a team that just doesn’t have any sort of a rushing attack and a defense that current ranks 31st in scoring defense. I think Atlanta is going to struggle offensively again in this one as I imagine that Bill Belichick and the Patriots defense will focus on ensuring that Kyle Pitts & Cordell Patterson doesn’t beat them and as I think Mac Jones and the Patriots offense continue to find success against a poor Falcons defense, I’m taking New England to win this one by a TD and cover this spread. Good Luck!
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
