Los Angeles Rams @ New England Patriots (3-7)
Sunday, November 17, 1:00 PM ET
Well how about the New England Patriots, eh?
The Patriots went on the road to face off against the Chicago Bears, and in a battle of two of this year’s top quarterback prospects, Drake Maye emerged victorious.
The Patriots put Caleb Williams on the ground nine times and hit him many other times besides. The defense of New England is the consistent reason to take pause before you just make a pick or prediction based on their record right now. It feels like they just have a few absolutely dominant games like that per year even when the team is “bad” overall.
But let’s give the Pats some credit. They went into Chicago as underdogs and the Bears have played well at home this year. They handed it to them.
This week, the Patriots have a different level of challenge on their hands with a Super Bowl-winning head coach/quarterback combo. The Los Angeles Rams are going to be trying to keep pace in the wide-open NFC West right now and they have so much to play for.
I don’t think the Rams are immune to losing at this point but they are one of those teams that I’m not comfortable betting against, even though they’re going on the road and even though Drake Maye is probably capable of having an “arrival” game at any point in time.
The Rams are going to have to maintain focus and not overlook the Patriots in this game, but I think they can get the job done. They are 5.5-point favorites in the early going this week. The Patriots are 1-3 so far this season while the Rams are 1-3 on the road.
Prediction: Rams win 23-19