Two of the NFL's worst teams will square off Sunday when the New England Patriots play the Jacksonville Jaguars in a Week 7 matchup in London.
Both teams are 1-5 at the bottom of the league standings. The Patriots have lost five consecutive games, and the Jaguars are coming off a 35-16 loss in London to the Chicago Bears and their rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.
Jacksonville's defense will go up against another rookie QB on Sunday. Drake Maye made his first career start for the Patriots in last week's 41-21 loss to the Houston Texans.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Normally, a 20-point loss would be pretty discouraging, but it wasn't because Maye showed flashes of the potential and talent that made him the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He helped make the Patriots lackluster passing attack look like a competent group with 243 yards and three touchdowns.
Will Maye give another encouraging performance in his second start? Can DeMario "Pop" Douglas continue to make a strong impact as the team's top wideout?
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Despite the rebuild, are Patriots maintaining urgency in 2024? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Patriots insider Tom E. Curran and WEEI's Meghan Ottolini shared their predictions based on the over/under totals for Patriots-Jaguars, as heard during the Total Insight segment on the latest episode of NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Talk Podcast.
Total points (42.5)
The most points the Patriots have scored this season is 21, which happened last week in a loss to the Texans. They've hit the 20-point mark only twice in six games. Both of these teams are averaging fewer than 20 points per game this season -- Jaguars at 18.8 (22nd in the league) and Patriots at 13.8 (31st).
Ottolini: "I'm going to take the under. It's a London game, these tend to skew lower, and Jacksonville is a mess."
More Patriots coverage
Drake Maye passing yards (203.5)
Maye completed 20-of-33 pass attempts for 243 yards in his first start. The Jaguars defense allows the most passing yards per game (276.7) and the fourth-highest completion percentage (70.8) to opposing QBs.
Ottolini: "I'm going to go over."
Drake Maye touchdown passes (0.5)
Maye's three touchdowns in Week 6 were one more than the Patriots had in the first five games combined with Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback. Jacksonville has allowed the most passing touchdowns at 14.
Curran: "That feels low; I think he gets them into the end zone via the air."
Ottolini: "Yeah, I'm going two (touchdowns)."
Drake Maye rushing attempts (5.5)
Maye ran five times for a team-leading 38 yards in his first start. He has enough athleticism to escape the pocket when the pass protection breaks down.
Ottolini: "I'm going to go over again."
Curran: "I'm going to go over as well."
DeMario Douglas receiving yards (45.5)
Douglas led the Patriots with 92 receiving yards against the Texans. He also has tallied six receptions in back-to-back weeks for the second time in his career. The second-year wideout is averaging 40.8 receiving yards per game this season.
Curran: "Over."
Ottolini: "I'll take the over."
Also in this episode:
- What to make of the team’s continued issues with penalties this season
- Evaluating this year’s first-round QB class’ success after subpar results the last few seasons
- Comparing Drake Maye’s level of resiliency to Mac Jones’ in his time with the Patriots