Must Win in New England + Week 7 Power Rankings

The Decline

The first outing of Cam Newton in a Patriots uniform this season was bittersweet to Patriot Nation. Superman was able to dominate a young Miami team and cruise to a Patriots victory to start the season. Since Week One, Cam’s play has slowly declined in each of his games and last weekend’s Denver game was the worst outing of his season hands down. Of course the whole Covid situation is to blame due to the fact he tested positive. However, as an NFL starting Quarterback you have to show up each week and put your team in a position to succeed. Coming off their ugliest loss in the post Brady era the Patriots and Newton have a lot to prove if they want any chance of making a 2020 playoff appearance. The Patriots play Buffalo, Baltimore, and Arizona in the month of November. You do not want to go into next month with a 2-4 record.

At just 2-3 on their 2020 campaign, New England finds themselves in a must win situation this coming Sunday when they host the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are coming off of a huge Sunday Night win against the LA Rams where they dominated ball control and won the line of scrimmage for all 60 minutes of their NFC West division tilt. Back to back home games leaves the Patriots in a position to bounce back with a win and put their season record at an even 3-3. Can Cam Newton outplay the former Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo?

Revenge Game

Can Jimmy G come back to New England and win against the coach that drafted him? It will take a great outing from his offensive line to continue to establish a strong run game like they did last weekend against the Rams. Raheem Mostert is back on the IR with an ankle injury so another running back will need to step up to the challenge of moving the chains against a solid Patriots defense. Obviously, New England has a top 10 Defense and leads the NFL with 2.0 Takeaways per game. This game starts at 4:25 PM EST and should come down to the final quarter. I am unable to pick a side in this matchup and believe it will result in a one possession game.

San Francisco’s defensive injuries have been the story of their season. But, they continue to have players step up such as Jason Verrett out of TCU who made a huge Interception in the end zone last week to help his team hold off a Rams comeback win. Fred Warner is also another linebacker to watch out for as I believe he will shadow Cam Newton the entire game and limit the running ability of the Patriots Quarterback.

Power Rankings

1.) Steelers

2.) Chiefs

3.) Seahawks

4.) Titans

5.) Packers

6.) Ravens

7.) Bears

8.) Buccaneers

9.) Saints

10.) Bills

11.) Rams

12.) Browns

13.) Colts

14.) 49ers

-Fred O’Brien (@FOBSportsNFL)