Here’s what NFL experts are predicting for Sunday’s Patriots-Saints game
COMMENTARY
By now you’ve salved the wounding of last week’s disastrous opener against the Kansas City Chiefs with the comforting thought that the last three times the New England Patriots opened a season with a record of 0-1, they only managed to finish the campaign as Super Bowl champions.
If they begin 2017 with an 0-2 mark after facing the New Orleans Saints on Sunday? Well, does 2001 ring a bell? Never mind the reality that comes with the territory of the pathetic AFC East, where the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins can all but guarantee that their New England rivals could sleepwalk through the entirety of September and still win its division.
Since 2001, the Patriots are 38-11 following a loss the previous week. Most see it as a good bet that they will maintain that rebounding excellence.
This week’s picks
Jeff Duncan, New Orleans Times-Picayune: Saints 33, Patriots 31.
“Conventional wisdom points to a New England victory. The Patriots are 7-point favorites and have had a four-day advantage in preparation thanks to their Thursday night opener against Kansas City. But we all know the NFL often defies convention. I like the Saints to spring the upset and spoil Brandin Cooks’ return to the Superdome. Drew Brees outduels Tom Brady in a classic shootout in front of an energized crowd for the Saints’ home opener. The Patriots shockingly fall to 0-2 for the first time since 2001, Brady and Bill Belichick’s first year together in New England.”
Greg Cote, Miami Herald: Patriots 41, Saints 27. “Sure, both teams lost their openers. So what? You like lots of points? You dig bombs-away offense? We present two Canton-bound QBs, Drew Brees and Tom Brady, who together have passed for 128,251 career yards and 922 TDs. Cornerbacks in this game will be dizzy by halftime. Brady was lousy by his standards last week, but Saints fans better be sending up prayers for their god-awful pass defense as the Pats strike back.”
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: Patriots 37, Saints 27. “This has the look of a big-time shootout. You have Tom Brady against Drew Brees, but you also have two defenses that aren’t very good right now. The points should be plenty, but I think the Pats have the better team and will make improvement on defense. Plus, they had extra time to prepare.”
CBS Sports staff: Seven out of eight pick New England (New Orleans +4.5). The same number choose the Pats straight-up.
Michael Hurley, CBS Boston: Patriots. “I recognize the Patriots’ defense looked abysmal in allowing Alex Smith to look like Peyton Manning and Kareem Hunt to look like LaDainian Tomlinson. But the Saints are one-dimensional (that run game looked atrocious on Monday night), they’re on a short week, and their defense looks like it’s on track to once again be one of the worst in the NFL. If Sam Bradford could carve up that Saints secondary, just imagine what Tom Brady can do.”
Fansided staff: All 13 pick the Patriots.
David Steele, Sporting News: Patriots 38, Saints 26. “It feels too easy to assume the Patriots will just flip a switch and take their rage from last week out on the Saints. Their defense has to prove it’s capable of doing that. Tom Brady will have a field day, but the Patriots defense may have caught a break with the inconsistencies the Saints offense showed against the Vikings. Vengeance is not guaranteed, but it’s likely.”
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: Patriots 38, Saints 34. “New England has had a long time to stew over went wrong in the second half of the season opener and should be fully expected to rebound with the full wrath of Tom Brady. What will facilitate him being Brady again is a still-putrid New Orleans defense playing host on a short week. But as well as Brady, Gronk and former Saint Brandin Cooks will get going, the defensive issues won’t totally go away in a shootout with Drew Brees.”
SB Nation staff: Eight out of nine pick New England.
Five Thirty Eight: Patriots with a 64 percent chance of victory.
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: Patriots 34, Saints 20. “The Saints are on a short week and the Patriots had extra time. Which will serve only to make things worse for a home team without the horses to keep up with a defending Super Bowl champion that suddenly has something to prove.”
Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk: Patriots 35, Saints 21. “The Saints’ defense looks like just the thing to get Tom Brady on track. He’ll have a big game.”
ESPN.com staff: All Pats
Elliot Harrison, NFL.com: Patriots 34, Saints 24. “For the Saints to win, they must attack with the ground game. The Pats are far from a finesse team, but they lack a thumper on run defense. Dont’a Hightower hasn’t practiced this week. (But Rob Gronkowski said the Pro Bowllinebacker is the smelliest guy in the Pats locker room, so there’s that.) The Patriots could really use Hightower this week, as it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if the Saints rotated Mark Ingram, Adrian Peterson and Alvin Kamara to test Matt Patricia’s defense early.”
Neil Greenberg, Washington Post: Winner: New England Patriots, 67 percent.
Boston Globe Staff: All Patriots
It says here: Saints 37, Patriots 34.Yes, the New Orleans defense looked just about as bad Monday night against the Vikings as New England’s did against the Chiefs. But it’s also difficult to forget the last time the Patriots played at the Superdome, a 38-17 loss in 2009 that seemingly defined the dysfunction on that team.
