New England Patriots: 3 Bold predictions for Week 7 vs. 49ers

2. New England will struggle offensively

In the Week 6 loss to the Denver Broncos a week ago, New England struggled offensively while only managing to put up a total of 12 points against Denver’s defense.

The running game was working relatively well as it normally does for the Patriots, but their passing game struggled throughout the course of the loss at home. In Week 7 this weekend, that might be the case once again for a unit that hasn’t really been able to establish any sort of threat through the air in five games in 2020.

Going into the slate of games in Week 7, New England has thrown the ball a total of just 155 times, which is the lowest in the NFL. With a league-worst three passing touchdowns along with seven interceptions, which is tied for third-most in the NFL, the Patriots have to figure something out offensively to get in the end zone outside of just the running game.

Unfortunately for New England, it might have to try and figure out the passing attack against San Francisco, which has been a team that has shown the ability to shut down opposing offenses’ running game. Leading into Week 7, the 49ers have allowed opposing teams to run for just 4.1 yards per rush attempt (tied for eighth-best mark), allowing the opposition to score via the run just four times (tied for third-least in NFL).

The Patriots have relied on the ground game to lead the way of the offense so far in 2020. But on Sunday evening against the 49ers, they might have to get creative to out-score San Francisco by the end of the game.