Patriots vs. Redskins: 6 Bold Predictions

Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

We’re more or less 72 hours away from kickoff between the New England Patriots and Washington Redskins. After back-to-back divisional games against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, the Patriots play host to a middling out-of-conference opponent. To help pass the time until kickoff, here are six bold predictions for the Week 9 matchup. Enjoy.

6. LeGarrette Blount will rush for 150 yards

Tom Brady has been tearing up the NFL with his right arm, but the story of this game will be his pal in the backfield. Blount will post 150 yards on the Redskins in this game.

The basis for this prediction is the fact that the Redskins are allowing a suspect 128.4 yards per game on the ground, the third-highest figure in the NFL. At this point in the season, the sample size of games is large enough to make inferences about teams using per-game averages as references; clearly, the Redskins are struggling to stop the run these days.

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While he was held to minus-three yards against the New York Jets in Week 7, Blount bounced back for 72 yards last week. Dating back before the Jets game, he had averaged 5.7 and 5.8 yards per carry against the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts, respectively. This is all to say that while Blount can be incredibly under-utilized by the Pats sometimes, he can also be a central component to the offensive attack.

Look for the Pats to pound the Redskins with Blount early and often in this game. Expect a workload of upwards of 30 carries for the veteran ball carrier.

Next: 5. Defense will intercept four passes