The New England Patriots are coming off of their first loss of the season after dropping last week's game to the Cincinnati Bengals and now things on the schedule in Week 6 do not get any easier, as the Pats are hosting the 5-0 New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium on Sunday in the FOX game of the week at 4:25 pm.
The Patriots were undefeated going into last week's game on the road in Cincy, but the Bengals defense played very well and snapped Tom Brady's touchdown pass streak at a whopping 52-games. Brady and the Pats are hoping to get red zone threat Rob Gronkowski back, but that appears not to be happening this week and now the undefeated Saints and quarterback Drew Brees are coming to town. The game this week will be on Fox and the Patriots are coming into the game after putting their lowest total of the season on offense with just six points and no touchdowns. The team won against the Falcons in a close game in Week 4, but now they have one of the best looking teams in the NFL on Sunday.
The Patriots offense has been struggling due to injuries to Gronkowski as well as Shane Vereen and Danny Amendola and while the wideout finally returned, the third down and red zone offense has been having issues without the tight end in the lineup. Gronkowski had multiple surgeries this offseason and if he misses out on this latest game, the Patriots wasted the chance to start him on the PUP list, meaning they could have kept another player on the roster, maybe even Tim Tebow, but that's unlikely.
Following the game against the Saints the team travels to New York to play the Jets and then the team has its second straight division game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 and then they will play the currently winless Steelers, who are playing the Jets in Week 6. The team has a bye that will be much needed in Week 10 and then the team starts a stretch of four road games in six weeks, with a Monday night matchup on ESPN against the Carolina Panthers coming out of the bye.
The team then plays a huge game at home against the Denver Broncos that could have playoff home field implications and then the team is at Houston to play the Texans before coming home against the Cleveland Browns. The team then will play at the Miami Dolphins and at the champion Ravens before finishing the season at home against the Bills. The team is ranked 21st in passing yards and 14th in rushing yards per game and that is disappointing after being in the top 10 in both last season. The defense has been more of a bend and not break unit this season, giving up over 110 rushing yards per game and ranking 14th in passing yards allowed per game.
Brady is still having a very solid season with over 1,200 passing yards and seven touchdowns with just three interceptions, although his streak of 52-games with a touchdown pass was snapped. He has passed for over 300 yards just once this season, but he has not had any games with multiple interceptions and now he will play an improved Saints secondary on Sunday.
