The New England Patriots are one of a handful of NFL teams that are fighting for their playoff lives, and they will have a chance to take a step towards clinching a postseason berth when they face the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football.
New England is 6-6 and is half a game behind the Los Angeles Chargers for the final Wild Card spot in the AFC.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, are 4-8 and have virtually no shot at making the postseason.
This is an opportunity for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones to show that he could be the QB of the future in New England and for head coach Bill Belichick to prove that his time isn’t over yet.
Look for these two things to take place on Monday.
1. Mac Jones Will Complete At Least Two-Thirds Of His Passes
Jones has his critics, as he has thrown as many interceptions (seven) as touchdowns this season, but he has also completed 68.1 percent of his passes.
The Cardinals are one of the NFL’s worst teams in terms of defending the pass, as they rank 24th in passing yards allowed and 30th in passing touchdowns allowed.
In his last seven games, Jones has completed less than 66.67 percent of his passes only once, which happened last week versus the Buffalo Bills.
2. The Patriots Will Win
Arizona has nothing to play for right now, while the Patriots have so much to fight for, and Belichick feels he knows the Cardinals more than most other teams in the NFC.
Belichick kicks off Cardinals week, noting the #Patriots are slightly more familiar with Arizona than most NFC teams after playing them in 2020.
“Very explosive team… pressure defense.” pic.twitter.com/1wLT3rpimM
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) December 6, 2022
Since Tom Brady left following the 2019 campaign, they have missed the playoffs twice in the last three seasons, and missing the postseason yet again would greatly weaken the franchise’s luster, not to mention that of Belichick.
