Packers Face Patriots in Week 9 Clash of 5-3 Teams

The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots will play Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET in Foxborough, Mass. The two teams enter the Week 9 matchup with identical 5-3 records after each winning four of their last five games.

The game pits two high-performing young quarterbacks against one another. Green Bay’s Jordan Love leads the National Football League with 2,246 passing yards and 16 touchdown passes. He frequently targets receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden downfield.

New England’s Drake Maye recently received the AFC Offensive Player of the Month honor for October. His unit has averaged 29.6 points per game over the final five contests.

The Patriots will play without several key offensive contributors. The team ruled out running back TreVeyon Henderson due to an illness. Receiver A.J. Brown is sidelined with ankle and knee injuries. Tight end Hunter Henry and receiver Mack Hollins were expected to be available after initially being listed as game-time decisions.

Green Bay’s offensive strategy has relied heavily on the passing game. The team ranks last in the league in rushing yards, a weakness that could increase the workload on Love against a home defense.

The Packers counter with a defense that has generated 15 takeaways, the second-highest total in the league. That unit will test Maye and the Patriots’ offense.

Bookmakers have set New England as a 3-point favorite. The over/under for total points is 44.5. The Packers are 5-3 against the spread this season, while the Patriots are 3-4-1 against the line. SportsLine’s projection model, which simulates games 10,000 times, favors the under. The model projects 43 combined points, with the under hitting in 56% of simulations.