Five bold predictions as Patriots try to get second straight win
By Fran Brown
Not a bad week for the bold predictions as three of them hit in the Patriots’ win over the Detroit Lions last week. Matthew Judon continued his sack streak, Rhamondre Stevenson became the team’s first 100-yard rusher on the season and the Patriots defense did a great job limiting T.J. Hockenson to just one reception for a measly six yards. Unfortunately, Kendrick Bourne remains to be a missing part of the offense and the one time Tyquan Thornton got behind the defense, Bailey Zappe didn’t have enough time to find him.
Sunday brings another winnable game for the Patriots on paper, but nothing is a given with this team so far. Bailey Zappe had a very efficient outing last week, will the coaching staff let him sling it a bit more this week? Will he even start? Will the Patriots be able to keep Nick Chubb in check? Here are my five bold predictions for what might happen during the game on Sunday afternoon.
Five bold predictions for the Patriots in week six
Rhamondre Stevenson records back-to-back 100-yard games
After Damien Harris went down with a hamstring injury last week, Stevenson went off for a career-high 161 rushing yards against a poor Lions rush defense. With Harris expected to miss more time as he deals with his injury, Stevenson will have another chance to shoulder the load against another porous rush defense.
Coming into the game, the Browns rank 28th against the run, giving up over 138 yards per game and 5.3 yards per rush. Last week, Austin Ekeler of the Chargers was able to garner 173 rushing yards on just 16 attempts, something the Patriots hope Stevenson will be able to replicate on Sunday.