New England Patriots
The Patriots (3-2) are facing a Saints team that picked up its first win last week.
Can the Patriots keep their momentum going after a thrilling prime time victory against the Bills Sunday night?
That’s the big question, as New England (3-2) takes on New Orleans (1-4), which picked up its first win of the season against the Giants last week.
The Saints throttled the Patriots in Foxborough, by a score of 34-0, the last time these two teams met in 2023. New Orleans finished 9-8 and made the playoffs. New England went 4-13 and got the No. 3 pick in the draft, which they used to take Drake Maye.
Circumstances are different now for both teams. Bill Belichick is gone, and Mike Vrabel has the Patriots off to their best start since 2019. With Maye under center and Josh McDaniels calling plays, the Patriots’ offense has looked functional again for the first time in years.
Meanwhile, the Saints are looking to find their identity with a new coach (Kellen Moore) and a new quarterback (Spencer Rattler). Alvin Kamara will have to deal with the Patriots’ run defense, which is 4th in the league, giving up 85.6 yards per game.
How will it all play out in New Orleans? Follow along here for live updates.
1:36: New Orleans is called for offensive pass interference, giving New England a first down and a chunk of yardage. 21-yard penalty.
1:33: Douglas burned the Saints’ secondary again, but offensive interference winds up wiping out the touchdown. Stefon Diggs was whistled for the penalty.
1:26: A holding penalty negates a big completion from Rattler that would have had New Orleans in the redzone. Instead, a wheel-route to Alvin Kamara falls short on third down and the Saints settle for another field-goal. New England 7, New Orleans 6.
1:20: EDGE rusher Harold Landry is down with a lower body injury, appearing to grab his right ankle. Landry is leading the Patriots in sacks this season, with 3.5 through five games. He was able to walk off the field and onto the sideline.
1:19: Spencer Rattler picks up a first down on a scramble, sliding just short of midfield.
1:12: Drake Maye hits a wide-open DeMario Douglas in stride for a 53-yard touchdown on a play-action pass. Douglas had just one defender to beat, and he sidestepped past him for the score. New England 7, New Orleans 3.
1:06: A blitzing Craig Woodson pressures Rattler into an incompletion on 3rd-and-4, forcing the Saints to settle for a short field goal. New Orleans 3, New England 0.
1:04: Patriots win the toss and elect to kickoff first. Spencer Rattler immediately finds Chris Olave sprinting past Kyle Dugger for a massive gain on the first play of the game. With Jaylinn Hawkins out, Dugger makes a rare appearance in the starting lineup.
12:45: Terrell Jennings will fill-in for the injured Antonio Gibson, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury last week in Buffalo.
The 24-year-old Jacksonville, Florida native spoke with Boston.com about his journey from experiencing homelessness in Jacksonville to starring at Florida A&M and reuniting with fellow Jacksonville native DeMario Douglas with the Patriots.
12:30: Efton Chism time.
Rookie receiver Efton Chism III has been activated to the 53-man roster and is expected to make his NFL debut against the Saints.
Chism, whose breakout training camp performance helped him earn a spot on the 53-man roster, has been working behind the scenes preparing for his first game-action of the season.
It looks like today will be the day he gets his shot to show what he can do.
12:15: Inactives.
New England: S Jaylinn Hawkins, OLB Anfernee Jennings, DT Eric Gregory, OG Caedan Wallace, DE Keion White, 3rd QB Tommy DeVito
New Orleans: OG Torricelli Simpkins, OG Xavier Truss, DT Khristian Boyd, DB Rejzohn Wright, DB Ugo Amadi, CB Isaac Yiadom
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