The Patriots will be bringing an old-school vibe to Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
For the second time this season, the Patriots will be switching things up by wearing their red throwback Pat Patriot jerseys.
Here’s what else could change for the Patriots when they take on the Colts at 1 p.m. ET.
New-look offensive line
The Patriots will not have the same offensive line three weeks in a row.
Left guard Michael Jordan had struggled this season, but it was still pretty surprising to see the Patriots release him while claiming guard Lester Cotton off waivers from the Dolphins. Jordan had started 11 of 12 games this season. He was injured in the only game he didn’t start.
Rookie Layden Robinson, who has been practicing at left guard, is the favorite to start in Jordan’s place. It would be Robinson’s first regular-season action at left guard. He did play 20 snaps at right guard in the preseason, but he’s exclusively played right guard this season.
Robinson has played much better as a run blocker this season, and he’s struggled in pass protection. The fourth-round pick hasn’t started since Week 9, so the Patriots have to hope the potential position switch and time off will help him.
The Patriots also could have a new starter at right tackle. Demontrey Jacobs was benched late in last Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins for Sidy Sow.
Jacobs allowed two sacks, a QB hit and six hurries and was penalized twice in 50 snaps. Sow didn’t allow any pressures, and he wasn’t penalized in 20 snaps.
Sow hadn’t played right tackle since last preseason. He was then moved back to his natural position of guard.
Designed runs for Drake?
Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye was open to the possibility of carrying the ball on designed runs when asked this week.
“I think there’s a time and place for it,” Maye said. “I think third-and-short yardage or down in the red zone or goal line or maybe a QB draw, something like that. I think there’s definitely a place for that if you can keep defenders or defenses on their toes with mixing it up and just have to do my part of getting down once I do get the yardage. Definitely think there’s a time and place for it, but at the same time getting the ball in Mondre (Rhamondre Stevenson) and AG (Antonio Gibson) and (JaMycal) Hasty’s hands is better than mine.”
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt also welcomed the idea and said there was a possibility that the team could have used Maye on designed runs last week against the Dolphins. The plays just weren’t called.
“Can he run the ball as a quarterback in designed runs? Absolutely. Will we use them? Yeah, absolutely. We had them in we had him in last week,” Van Pelt said. “I’m not going to ask him to do it on first-and-10 in the middle of a drive. But if there’s a situation that’s a high leverage situation where we could use his legs to our advantage and the offense’s advantage, we certainly will. He does run enough. He’s taking the hits in the pocket as a passer. So just trying to keep him as healthy as possible. But again, when the time comes and if we need a play and we think that’s the best play to get him carrying the ball, then we’ll do that.”
Secondary help?
The Patriots could be getting a boost at safety in the form of Jabrill Peppers.
Peppers was limited in practice with a knee injury. He said this week that he was banged up after the Patriots’ Week 4 loss to the 49ers.
He was arrested the following Saturday and pleaded not guilty on assault, strangulation and drug charges in a domestic incident at his Braintree apartment. The Patriots ruled him out of Week 5, then he was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. He was removed from the list Monday and coaches have deemed him “day to day” in his return.
Peppers’ legal situation, and his looming trial, which is scheduled to start Jan. 22, won’t preclude him from playing in a game, per head coach Jerod Mayo.
The Patriots have weathered the storm without Peppers, going 2-6 but receiving solid play from rookie Dell Pettus, 2023 third-round pick Marte Mapu and veteran Jaylinn Hawkins, but Peppers was one of the team’s best players last season and through four games this year.
Fellow starting safety Kyle Dugger struggled with communication last week. Peppers’ return could wind up boosting Dugger’s play.
Putting Peppers back on the field before all of the details of his case are revealed in January seems risky, but the Patriots must feel comfortable enough if Peppers is back on the practice field and in the facility.
We’ll find out Sunday if Peppers is feeling physically well enough to play.
Back to School?
The Patriots haven’t faced a bigger rushing threat at quarterback this season than Colts second-year-pro Anthony Richardson.
The 22-year-old quarterback has completed just 47.1% of his passes this season for 1,402 yards with five touchdowns, seven interceptions and a league-high 15.6 yards per completion. He’s also carried the ball 61 times for 335 yards with three touchdowns. At 6-foot-4, 244 pounds, he ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine last April.
The last time the Patriots faced a mobile quarterback, Week 10’s win over the Bears, defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington debuted the “Longhorn package” with special-teams ace Brenden Schooler as a QB spy. It would make sense to re-use that strategy this Sunday against the Colts on third down and obvious passing situations.
Schooler has played eight defensive snaps overall this season and has two sacks and three total pressures. He’s an All-Pro talent on special teams and also ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2022. He has solid size to play in the middle of the field at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds.
The Patriots do have other safeties they can use in the spy role, like Pettus, Marte Mapu and Hawkins. But why mess with a good thing? Schooler was great in the role in Week 10 and added another sack last week against the Dolphins.
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