Sunday Night Football: Packers vs Patriots

Two Future Hall of Fame QB's Take the Helm Tonight for Patriots and Packers

The Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots battle at Gillette Stadium on Sunday Night Football. This game tonight has the potential to be one of the top games in the NFL this season. Many fans, and sports bettors, have had this one circled since the schedules came out.

TV: 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC.

LINE: Patriots -5. O/U: 56

Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers often are mentioned in the conversation as the best quarterbacks in the game. The former NFL Most Valuable Players rarely share the same field. That will change on Sunday night as Brady and Rodgers will square off for only the second time in their stellar careers.

Brady and Rodgers are the only active players in the league to have won multiple MVP awards. This is among the many reasons for the hype surrounding Sunday's matchup.

"If you want to study how to play quarterback, you need to watch that game Sunday night because you're going to see all the little things," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "From pure quarterback play, I think this is definitely one you want to watch."

Rodgers came up short in his bid to hand the Los Angeles Rams their first loss a week ago. Now they must fly to the opposite coast to face Brady and a New England squad that has won five straight and is unbeaten at home.

"The challenge from my standpoint is knowing we have to be incredibly productive as an offense," Brady said. I know we can't turn it over, I know we're going to have to possess the ball. I know we're going to have to score in the red area."

Two High Powered Passing Attacks and Inconsistency on the Ground

The Packers are 3-3-1 on the season. They have been battling injuries and consistency on offense this season.

Green Bay has been fairly one-dimensional on offense. Rodgers is third in the league with an average of 326.1 yards per game. He has been efficient as well, throwing for 13 touchdowns with only one interception.

Rodgers has a 100-plus passer rating in his last games three overall. He has at least two TD passes in five of his last six versus AFC foes.

Injuries have hindered two of Rodgers' top receivers. Davante Adams has six touchdown catches on the season. He has amassed 24 receptions for 405 yards and three scores over the past three games.

A cluttered backfield was thinned out this week with the trade of Ty Montgomery. The trade leaves Aaron Jones poised to lead the ground game after posting season highs with 86 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against the Rams.

The Packers are No. 5 against the pass, allowing 221.7 yards per game. They traded starting safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington this week so that may hurt some.

The Patriots are 6-2 on the season and seem to get better each week, take away the struggles with Buffalo last week.

Running back Sony Michel was limited in practice again Thursday after sitting out last week's game due to a knee injury. One of the surprise replacements for him was wideout Cordarrelle Patterson, who had 10 carries for 38 yards.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski has not scored since the season opener. He did not practice Thursday and was held to three catches in each of his last two games.

Brady threw for 324 yards in last week's 25-6 victory at Buffalo. He connected with Julian Edelman nine times for 104 yards. He hit running back James White 10 times for 79 yards. That padded his team-leading totals to 55 catches, 459 yards and six receiving touchdowns.

New England is vulnerable to the pass, allowing 277.3 yards per game to rank 27th in the league.

New England is seeking its 10 consecutive home win against a Green Bay squad that is 0-3 on the road.

PREDICTION: Patriots 33, Packers 30

NFL Betting Odds & Trends

Green Bay Packers
Green Bay is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games
Green Bay is 3-6-1 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Green Bay's last 13 games
Green Bay is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Green Bay is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Green Bay's last 8 games on the road
Green Bay is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New England
Green Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing New England
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Green Bay's last 5 games when playing New England
Green Bay is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New England

New England Patriots
New England is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
New England is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games at home
New England is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home
New England is 1-6-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Green Bay
New England is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Green Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New England's last 5 games when playing Green Bay
New England is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Green Bay

 

Next up:
Green Bay home to Miami Sunday, November 11
New England at Tennessee Sunday, November 11

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