Seven Storylines To Follow In Patriots’ Must-Win Matchup With Panthers

The New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers will meet at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

It’ll be a fun matchup, with both franchises searching for an extremely meaningful victory as they each look to take a giant step forward this season. Drake Maye will face his hometown team for the very first time. Bryce Young has another opportunity to build some positive momentum in what has been an up-and-down career thus far.

I’ll be keeping my eye on a few other things, though:

1. ZERO FAMILIARITY

The Patriots and Panthers have almost zero familiarity when it comes to their rosters, which is rarely the case these days.

PatsPulpit’s Oliver Thomas puts together lists of roster ties every week, and there are exactly two heading into this weekend — New England linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson and Carolina cornerback Mike Jackson each spent offseasons with their upcoming opponent before finding success elsewhere and earning deals with their current squads.

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The Patriots do have three members of their coaching staff who previously spent time working at 800 South Mint Street, though — tight ends coach Thomas Brown, assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler and senior defensive assistant Ben McAdoo.

2. GONZALEZ RETURNS (BUT ACTUALLY THIS TIME)

Christian Gonzalez’s return from injury is imminent, and although that was part of our seven storylines last week, we can’t help but include him once again.

Gonzalez was still limited during the first two practices of the week, but we’ve heard that he’s getting closer to being himself.

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“It was good to see him out there last week — to get back into the flow of things, get some work,” Patriots cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton said on Thursday, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “… (It) sounds like he’s starting to feel close to his old self, so hopefully we can get him back to that.”

Gonzalez also seemed perturbed by some folks questioning his commitment amid the recovery process from his injury, so perhaps that plays a role in his gameday status?

We will see…

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3. STOPPABLE FORCE VS. MOVABLE OBJECT

It’s often said that football games are won in the trenches, but in the case of this game — and more specifically, the Patriots’ offensive line and the Panthers’ defensive line — each side just appears to be in survival mode.

New England will likely be without one of its rookie starters, as left guard Jared Wilson missed each of the first two practices this week with knee and ankle injuries in addition to the thigh injury he’d been dealing with prior.

Ben Brown would slide into that role should there be an absence.

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Carolina has the third-fewest quarterback pressures in the league through three weeks (30), and only have a 3.3% conversion rate on turning those pressures into sacks — which is the worst mark in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats.

Princely Umanmielen, a third-round rookie, has their lone sack on the season. Derrick Brown, the club’s best player and one of the best interior defensive players in the league, hasn’t recorded a sack or tackle for loss this season.

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5. TREVEYON’S TIME

The Patriots made a notable practice change on Wednesday, as rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson kickstarted a drill before being followed by Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson.

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I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that could indicate a meaningful change in the running back rotation this week.

Henderson (78; 38%) has received significantly less snaps than many initially anticipated coming into the season, though it was expected that he would fall between Stevenson (112; 55%) and Gibson (34; 17%).

New England made the decision to start piling more onto the second-round rookie’s plate after his veteran teammates each fumbled during Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and conventional wisdom would indicate that his uptick in usage will continue as the club looks to mitigate turnovers.

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Henderson never lost a fumble during his four-season career at Ohio State, after all.

4. QUIRKY KICKING GAME

Panthers kicker Ryan Fitzgerald is one of many kickoff specialists that has implemented the “dirty kickoff” technique that has become popular this season — and perhaps does it better than anyone.

The NFL has seen an influx of knuckleball-like kickoffs since introducing the hybrid approach, where the ball lands short of the end zone and bounces around on the turf before being scooped up by returners, causing something of a frenzy and allowing the gunners time to get down the field and make the tackle.

“Who cares? It’s just a kickoff!”

Mike Vrabel told reporters that he spent two hours trying to find a way to combat them, so… him. 

The Panthers’ opponents have the worst average starting field position —  their own 21-yard line — in the league. The Los Angeles Rams gave the Philadelphia Eagles fits with the same wrinkle in Week 3 — so this thing is very real when used correctly.

The Patriots will have to figure out a way save themselves from disaster in the kicking game, with the onus falling on Henderson and Gibson. 

6. “I DON’T GET NO RESPECT”

The Patriots’ passing attack can be best described as one that doesn’t strike any fear into their opponent… like, at all.

New England’s offense faces heavier boxes than any other unit in the NFL., with there being an average of seven defenders in the box on a particular play through three weeks this season while their EPA (Expected Points Added) per rushing attempt sitting at a league-worst -0.40.

It’s time to start airing that thing out, because they only way to combat having the odds stacked against you in the running game is to hit some home runs in the passing game — which have been nonexistent this year.

Luis Arraez has more pop than this unit…

7. KEAGAN’S BETTING CORNER

I’ve gone 2-0 in these things, so jump on the bandwagon before things completely fly off the rails and we lose all of our profit.

Carolina’s defense pitched a shutout last week against the Atlanta Falcons. New England moved the ball well and probably would have reached the 30-point mark on back-to-back weeks if not for its five turnovers against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I think it’s going to be a rock fight between those two units, but given the need to account for more explosive plays and their inability to run the ball early this season — as well as the atrocious pass-rush they’ll be facing, I expect the Patriots to air that thing out on Sunday.

Kayshon Boutte is the obvious choice to be on the receiving end of an explosive reception, so let’s back the kid.

The Pick: Kayshon Boutte 20+ Yard Reception — Yes (+105 at FanDuel)

What will you be watching for? Let us know in the comments, or send a note @KeaganStiefel on X!