Is week three a must-win game for the New England Patriots?

Week three provides the hardest test of the season so far for the New England Patriots, as they match up against the Baltimore Ravens.  Don’t let the Ravens’ week two collapse fool you, they are a very good football team with loads of talent on both sides of the ball.

They’re led by Lamar Jackson, who has had a sensational start to the season and looks like an MVP candidate again.  Their defense also has some talent as well, but they stop and start with Lamar Jackson.

As the Patriots approach this game, which is their home-opener, could we call this game a must-win for the team?  I think the argument could easily be made.  The team’s week one loss against the Miami Dolphins was ugly, but they rebounded nicely against the Steelers.

And if they want to make the playoffs this season, they’ll have to start beating these playoff caliber teams, as they could even get into a scenario where tiebreakers come into play.   They’re already 0-1 in the division, which isn’t ideal, so picking up an in conference victory his huge.

It also becomes more urgent when looking at the team’s schedule beyond this week.  Their next two games are against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.  The Packers are good, like always, and the Lions’ offense has been nearly unstoppable, and their team looks to have turned a corner this year.

You’d be lying to yourself if you thought that the next two games after Sunday would be even remotely easy.  I think this is a huge turning point for the team.  Sure, there are still 14 more games after Sunday, but this a win that could set the tone for the rest of the season, or at least show the team what they’re capable of.  The Patriots have largely been counted out during the offseason and into this short season thus far, but if the team can treat this like a must-win as it should be, perhaps some good can come from it.