The Green Bay Packers will face the New England Patriots on Sunday, but head coach Bill Belichick still isn’t sure who his starting quarterback will be. Regular starter Mac Jones is still recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered in last week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. If he is unable to play, his replacement will be Brian Hoyer, who Packers head coach Matt LaFleur offered tons of praise for earlier in the week.
“Brian Hoyer is a guy I’ve got a lot of respect for,” LaFleur said. “My brother was on that staff in Cleveland when he was a starter, and they had him again when he was in San Francisco as well. I remember watching a lot of the cut-ups from the ’14 season, and you could make the case and take all his great plays he made, and you would have thought he was one of the best quarterbacks in the league.”
Jones has struggled in his second year as the starter. Through the first three games, he has already thrown five interceptions, and his passer rating is the second lowest in the league, only ahead of Justin Fields. Even if Jones does sit out, the Patriots offense shouldn’t see much of a drop-off.
Sunday’s game should be another chance for Green Bay’s defense to gain some confidence. Offensively, the Packers should continue to lean on their run game, seeing that the Patriots have been much better at defending the pass through the first three games.
Green Bay is the clear favorite to win this game, but facing a team coached by Belichick presents plenty of challenges. Aaron Rodgers is 1-1 as a starter against Belichick, but this is the first time the two will meet without Tom Brady.
The Packers hope to improve to 3-1 before heading to London, while New England needs a win to avoid falling to 1-3. Expect to see two well-coached teams take the field on Sunday with some intriguing matchups. Here are four key ones to keep an eye on.