Washington Football Team vs New England Patriots Prediction, Odds and Preview - 08/12/2021

Game Time: 8:20 pm ET, Thursday, August 12th, 2021

Venue:  Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass 

Where to Watch:  NFL Network

Season-to-Date Record:

Football Team: 0-0 (everyone is undefeated)

Patriots: 0-0 (except the Cowboys)

MyBookie:  Spread: Washington -2,  Washington -130, New England +110, O/U 35

Football Team:  Curtis Samul (covid protocol) OUT, David Sharpe (covid protocol) Out

Team2:  Belichick has not released injuries as it is not required for pre-season.  The NFL is back!

Football Team

Ryan Fitzpatrick QB

Antonio Gibson RB
Terry McLaurin WR1
Curtis Samuel WR2
Adam Humphries WR3
Logan Thomas TE
Charles Leno Jr LT
Ereck Flowers  LG
Chase RoullierC
Brandon Scherff RG
Cornelius Lucas RT

Patriots:

Cam Newton QB
Damien Harris RB
Kendrick Bourne WR1
Nelson Agholor  WR2
Jakobi Meyers WR3
Jonnu Smith  TE  (Hunter Henry may take spot by season opener)
Isaiah Wynn  LT
Michael Onwenu LG
David Andrews C 
Shaq Mason  RG
Trent Brown RT

Washington: Ron Rivera  (2nd season) Beat Cancer

New England:  Bill Belichick (21st Season) 6 Super Bowl Wins, 17 AFC East Division titles

This is the first preseason game for both teams.  The NFL preseason kicked off with the Hall of Fame Game last week that featured the Dallas Cowboys vs the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Washington Football team (formerly the Redskins) went 7-9 last season.  They finished first in the NFC East, which was a historically bad division.  They were 25th in points scored, but made the playoffs where they promptly lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Offensive Coordinator Scott Turner was in his first year and had to juggle a turnstile at the QB spot.  Alex Smith made a brave return from a severe, life threatening leg injury that caused him to miss 2 ½ seasons.  Alex went 5-1 down the stretch of the season to get them to that play-off spot.  Then promptly retired.  Dwayne Haskins went 1-5 and is now looking to restart his career as a backup on the Pittsburgh Steelers Kyle Allen went 1-4 in his first season playing for Washington He logged 4 TD, 1 Int and 610 yards.  They acquired him from the Carolina Panthers (where he held down the bench) for a 5th round pick.  Kyle played his college football at Texas A&M and Houston… both of which had great offensive line play so maybe after 3 years he is still learning to face a pro defense?  It’s not such a bright spot that Deandre Hopkins (their best receiver) left for the Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray this offseason.

Last season the Patriots went 7-9, finishing 3rd in the AFC East Division. Two of those wins came against the New York Jets, so not a great year.  They were 27th in points scored as Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels struggled to come up with schemes to help the struggling Quarterback play that started with Cam Newton’s 65.8% dismal completion percentage and 47 QBR.  They had brief appearances from Jarrett Stidham 50% completion rate 15.9 QBR, Brian Hoyer 62.5% 28.2 QBR… In fact the best QB on last year’s roster was Wide Receiver Jakobi Meyers who was 2-2 passing on trick plays.  The fans will no doubt be chanting “rookie” early in the opener.

The Washington Football team had a fantastic pass defense in 2020 giving up the second least yards and the second least touchdowns only the Los Angeles Rams did better.  They covered the end zone well, they had solid pass defense numbers in the first half and the second half. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio had studs on the defensive line that brought pressure from the first quarter to the fourth quarter.  Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne… all first round picks… all dominant...especially Chase Young (7.5 sacks), the Defensive Rookie of the Year and instant Pro-Bowl selection.  Washington's defense is legit. 

The New England Patriots were 7th in Team defense, 15th best in total yards given up, and they missed the playoffs.  They were 15th in total yards given upCoach Bill Belichek, besides coaching one of God’s favorite teams, likes to be hands-on with New England’s defense.  A workload fully deserved, he won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants as the defensive coordinator, not to mention six as the Patriots Head Coach.   

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This isn’t the start of the regular season… It’s the start of pre-season.  Ryan Fitzpatrick will be taking snaps as the new Redskins starter.  He started his career in Buffalo a long time ago, and has been on seemingly every team since. I don’t believe they will play him longer than a series or two, choosing instead to look at Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen, and Stephen Montez.  If recent years tell us anything about Fitzpatrick it’s that eventually his team sits him in favor of a younger guy, the trick is when Sep? Oct? Nov? Dec?

The Patriots have to decide whether they are going to debut Mac Jones and for how long?  He is the obvious future in New England (if he works as a pro) and Cam is just place-holding at this point.  If you give Mac too much preseason play you could upset the timeline (and Cam) and have fans clamoring for the change too early.  Bill Bilichek is too deliberate to let that happen.  So I think the third stringer gets the most time.

Washington Football Team vs New England Patriots Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Thursday August 12th  game is Washington 21 New England 6

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