Loading...
The NFL schedule has now flipped over to Week 7 of the season. Looking ahead, we have another early game over in London, with the New England Patriots traveling over to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Both teams are coming off losses last week and sit on 1-5 records, so will be desperate for a win here. Let’s dive into this London matchup and make our New England Patriots @ Jacksonville Jaguars NFL picks.
In Week 6, the New England Patriots fell to the Houston Texans at home 41-21. That spoiled the first start for the number three overall pick Drake Maye. The rookie showed some great flashes in his debut. That included hooking up with Kayshon Boutte on a 40-yard touchdown for his first career TD pass.
The rookie continued to impress in the rest of the game, throwing for three touchdowns and 243 yards. However, it was not a clean day for him as he got sacked four times and threw two interceptions. Maye getting into the lineup provided a spark for this offense that we did not see from Jacoby Brissett. It was the first time all season that the Pats were able to find the end zone three times in a game.
The Pats now have the ability to throw the ball downfield, which you would eventually like to think opens the running game. Unfortunately, that did not happen in this one without their lead back in Rhamondre Stevenson, who was out with a foot injury. Antonio Gibson took the bulk of the work with 13 carries but only tallied 19 yards.
With Drake Maye now in the lineup, that opened some doors for the Pats’ pass catchers as well. We saw Demario ‘Pop’ Douglas have his best game of the season, catching six of his nine targets for 92 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Hunter Henry found his way back in the end zone, having two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. The offense from the Pats was improved in this one, and let’s hope they are able to build upon it.
The Jags were at their home away from home in Week 6 in London against the Chicago Bears. The game started out well for the Jags, taking a lead in the first quarter. After that, however, it was all Chicago. The Jaguars as a whole struggled with drops and penalties on the day. They had a whopping eight that led to the Bears having the advantage in big spots of the game.
Trevor Lawrence had a good day on paper, his second solid performance in a row. Lawrence was 22-35 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw an interception late in the game to Bears cornerback Josh Blackwell, but he was just trying to make something happen. Gabe Davis caught both of Lawrence’s touchdown passes, accumulating 45 yards after an early drop in the end zone.
It was also good to see Evan Engram back on the field, who had been out with a hamstring injury since Week 1. Engram caught all 10 of his targets for 102 yards but did lose a fumble.
The big disappointment for the Jags on the day was their inability to get the running game going. Travis Etienne left the game early with a hamstring injury and is now week-to-week according to head coach Doug Pederson. D’Ernest Johnson led the way with 28 yards on six, carries, while Tank Bigsby, who was everyone in fantasy football’s favorite waiver-wire target had just seven carries for 24 yards. They need to get the running game going to have success in this game.
This is a big game for both of these teams. Drake Maye heads into this game looking for his first career win, while Pederson and the Jaguars look to keep their season alive and perhaps even Pederson’s job.
Both of these defenses have been struggling lately. The Jaguars’ defense has given up at least 24 points in four straight games. Their secondary has been banged up and it may not get better heading into this week. The Jags defense has only forced three total turnovers on the season, which bodes well for the rookie quarterback on the other side.
As for the Patriots, their defense is a bit better than the Jaguars but they still struggle at times. They have only forced seven turnovers on the season. The Jaguars’ offensive line can be beaten up front as well, but that has not been a strength of the Patriots either, having just 14 sacks on the year which is in the bottom half of the league.
With all that said, we expect some points to be scored in this matchup. Our Patriots @ Jacksonville Jaguars pick is that there will be more than 42 points scored in this London game.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.