Although it’s not their typical way of doing things, there are glimpses of Pederson’s past on the Jags tape. Above, Jacksonville is running a concept that Pederson calls “deacon,” where there is a low mesh concept (shallow crossers) with a deep dig creating levels to the play. The Eagles ran plays like “deacon” and mesh-rail (Clement TD) to attack the Pats man coverages.

If the Patriots take away Lawrence’s sweet spots, one would expect Pederson to go to his old reliables. The Jags have the tools to give the Pats defense problems, so we’ll see if Covington and Mayo have answers to these repeat plays on Jacksonville’s call sheet on Sunday.

Pats WR DeMario Douglas vs. Jags NDB Darnell Savage

It’s great that the Patriots have a wideout who deserves a spot in key matchups. After signing as a free agent this offseason, Savage has played more in the slot than free safety, where he lined up in Green Bay. If he is over the slot against Pop, that’s a clear advantage for Douglas, like it was last week against a similar player in Texans nickel-safety Jalen Pitre. The Jags are allowing a league-worst 128.3 passer rating vs. slot receivers this season. I’m not a betting man, but I might take the over on Pop’s receiving yards and Drake Maye’s rushing yards this week.

Pats Left Tackle (?) vs. Jags EDGE Josh Hines-Allen

We aren’t sure who will be the Patriots starting left tackle on Sunday. But, if we had to guess, the starting five could be LT Trey Jacobs, LG Michael Jordan, C Ben Brown, RG Sow/Robinson, and RT Michael Onwenu.

Hines-Allen is an explosive edge rusher who ranks 12th among all defenders with 24 quarterback pressures. Hines-Allen likes to win with speed, using a chop-rip and an explosive inside-out rush to turn the corner. Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are the potential game-wreckers on the Jaguars defense.

Pats Right Tackle (?) vs. Jags EDGE Travon Walker

Moving over to the other side, Walker hasn’t necessarily lived up to the hype of a number one overall pick. However, he’s still an athletic freak with 23 QB pressures and five sacks this season. Walker is capable of having huge games, like his three-sack, seven QB pressure performance vs. Indy in Week 5.

EDGE Keion White vs. Jags RT Anton Harrison

During the 2023 draft process, Harrison was on pretty much all of our big boards as a Patriots target. He ended up going 28th overall to Jacksonville, and as a cautionary tale that we don’t have all the answers, Harrison has struggled in the NFL. This season, he has already allowed 15 pressures and two sacks. The Jags have a strong interior O-Line in pass protection, with C Mitch Morse and RG Brandon Scherff ranking in the top-15 in pass-blocking win rate, so White might need to get his pressures against the weak link on the outside.

Bonus: Patriots Cornerbacks vs. Jaguars Wide Receivers

With the way Jacksonville deploys their receivers, this might be a sides game for the Patriots CBs rather than shadowing in a specific matchup. Davis and Thomas Jr. each run over 77% of their routes on the outside, while Kirk is a full-time slot receiver. Those two outside guys are pretty redundant with an even target share. Lawrence targets Thomas Jr. on 20.9% of his throws, while Davis sees a 17.3% target share, and both are deep threats. It seems like a similar coverage plan needs to be implemented for Davis and BTJ.