Following their 10-6 overseas loss to the Colts in Germany last weekend, the Patriots are on a much-needed Week 11 bye.
Players are off from Thursday to Sunday and will return to Foxborough on Monday ahead of their post-Thanksgiving game versus the New York Giants.
The betting odds are already up and despite sitting in the middle of a three-game losing streak, New England is a 5.5-point favorite for the contest. Here are the opening odds, according to FanDuel Sportsbook:
Spread: Patriots -5.5
Moneyline: Patriots -235/Giants +194
Total: O/U 35.5
Both the Patriots and the Giants have some quarterback questions on their hands leading into this one. New York will be starting undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito under center next Sunday as both Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor recover from injury. New England? They don’t even have a starter.
“We’ve got a lot of things to work on as a team and we’ll work through those,” Bill Belichick told the media this week when asked if Mac Jones is his starting quarterback. “That’s what we’re going to do this week.”
“No, we haven’t talked about that,” Jones himself said when asked if he’s the starter during his weekly WEEI appearance. “Really just, today we watched the game film and kinda talked about the plans for the bye week, so. We have practice tomorrow so. Just see how it goes there and the bye week’s a great time to work on things that you can do better so, that’s what I’m going to do.”
On Wednesday, Jones took the team’s ‘starter’ reps during the media portion of the Patriots’ practice, and The Atlhetic’s Jeff Howe reported that it continued throughout the remainder of the session. He also reported that their starter has yet to be determined.
Two of Jones’ teammates, defensive tackle Deatrich Wise and Jahlani Tavai, spoke highly of their quarterback of Tuesday.
“Personally, we’ve been going to war with Mac [Jones] so that’s the guy who I always hang my hat on,” Wise told WEEI’s Gresh and Fauria. “If Coach thinks otherwise, then that’s the guy who we’re going to rally behind.”
“He hasn’t lost any of us on the team,” Tavai told The Greg Hill Show when asked about rumors of Jones losing the locker room. “I hope he knows that all 52 other guys are ready to get after it with him.”
If New England doesn’t turn to Jones next weekend, then it would likely be backup Bailey Zappe at the helm with a puncher’s chance that either Will Grier or Malik Cunningham get the start. Either way, the suspense will continue throughout the weekend.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick and head to FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook, for all of your sports wagering.
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