GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have their eyes on the Super Bowl. So do the New England Patriots, who lost in last year’s Super Bowl.

On Sunday, these storied teams will collide in Foxborough. The Patriots are three-point favorites. With Tom Brady on the call and Rob Gronkowski being inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame, here are three reasons why the Packers will spoil the party and earn a statement win.

1. Depleted Patriots Offense

The Patriots reached the Super Bowl last year despite the lack of a legit threat at receiver. So, they attempted to rectify that problem by signing Romeo Doubs, who had a solid four seasons with the Packers, and trading for A.J. Brown, a three-time Pro Bowler who had surpassed 1,000 yards in six of his first seven seasons.

Neither player will be on the field for this game, though. Doubs is on injured reserve with a shoulder injury and Brown is out again with a knee injury.

Combined with the questionable status of top tight end Hunter Henry, who leads the team in receptions, the Packers’ strong defense will face a diluted New England attack.

Without Brown and Doubs and with Henry limited to eight snaps with an injured foot, the Patriots needed to rally past the lowly Dolphins last week. The Patriots were held to merely 313 yards.

The key for the Packers will be limiting the Rhamondre Stevenson-led running game and putting the pressure on New England’s passing game to make plays against a Packers defense that ranks fourth in opponent passer rating.

“I think first of all, he’s an elite quarterback in the pocket, out of the pocket,” cornerback Brandon Cisse said of Drake Maye. “He’s extremely dangerous. He can make any throw. Obviously, he’s super-smart.

“They got a great offensive coordinator, great receivers, great playmakers around him and, obviously, when the run game’s going they can do everything and they can throw it just as good as they can run it. So, we’re going to have our hands full for sure and got to make sure that we’re ready to play.”

Prediction: The Patriots are going to have a hard time stringing together sustained success on offense. 

2. Drake Maye May Screw Up

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is one of the best in the business. He was one vote away from winning NFL MVP last year.

However, unless you’re one of the undisputed elite quarterbacks, a quarterback oftentimes is only as good as his supporting cast. So, while Maye is seventh in completion percentage, third in yards per attempt and fifth in touchdowns, only three quarterbacks have thrown more than Maye’s eight interceptions and his six fumbles are one off the unwelcome NFL lead.

“I think speaking from playing zone coverage, they’ve got great eyes,” Maye told reporters this week. “They got eyes on the quarterback, they make plays on the football. They can, obviously, catch well. The safeties are great players. They do a lot of things well and they read the quarterback very well, mix up in zone looks. Tip balls have turned into picks that they’ve shown.

“So, they’ve just had a habit of creating turnovers in the pocket with the quarterback. They have got some free rushers’ help, too, of the quarterback panicking and trying to fit some stuff to tight windows. They’re good at keeping you in some negative plays. They make you go longer distances. It’s hard.”

In the Patriots’ three losses, Maye has thrown three touchdowns vs. six interceptions. In the five wins, it’s 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. His eight interceptions equal last year’s total (in less than half the attempts) are only two off his total from his rookie season in 2024.

Prediction: It only takes one big mistake to swing a game between equal teams. Based on this season, Maye is more apt to make that mistake.

3. Turnovers (And Taking Advantage of Them)

“The ball” is the most important thing in the sport, coach Matt LaFleur likes to say. Teams that take away and protect the ball tend to win; teams that don’t tend to lose.

The Packers are tied for fourth in the league at plus-4 in turnovers. After creating only 14 takeaways last season – when Micah Parsons was on the field for 14 games – they rank second in the league with 15 takeaways this season.

The Patriots this year are minus-7 overall; only the white-flag-of-surrender-waving Colts are worse at minus-11. Their 15 giveaways are the third-most in the league.

Added together, you get this chart.

Points Off Turnovers through Week 8 pic.twitter.com/UmVq9xw7uU

— SFdata9ers🏈📊 (@sfdata9ers) November 7, 2026

The Packers are third in the league by scoring 52 points off takeaways; the Patriots are tied for 23rd with 20 points off takeaways.

Green Bay’s aggressive, playmaking defense works hand-in-hand with quarterback Jordan Love’s aggressive, playmaking approach to the position.

“Nobody’s had more 20-yard pass plays,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Wednesday. “(Love is) a quarterback that’s wildly efficient. He has a few off-days, but they’re few and far between. They throw shots. They’ve, obviously, great speed on the edges. They have an excellent tight end, Tucker Kraft, and now getting [Josh] Jacobs back, it seems like they’re trying to work him back in there a little bit more and see what he can do for them in the red zone and things like that. I think they’ve protected better the last few games.

“I think that when one of your best players for them is their quarterback, or their best player, that’s an emphasis that they try to make because when you give him time, he’s able to find [Matthew] Golden, [Christian] Watson or Tucker Kraft. Defensively, very physical. They have the second-most negative plays and created the second-most negative plays in the league. Seventeen percent of their drives end in a turnover, so that leads the league, as well.”

Love is cooking. He and Kirk Cousins are the only quarterbacks with at least two touchdown passes in seven games this season.

“Our goal every week is to go 1-0, and this is a very good team,” Love said. “Like you mentioned, they were in the Super Bowl last year for a reason. They’re very good in, really, all three phases. They got an elite defense. I think they do a lot of things really well. They got two really good corners on the outside.

“Yeah, I got a lot of respect for them. It’s always a good test, but I think the goal for us to see how we can go out there and execute the plan, and the goal is to come away victorious. We know to put ourselves in the best position late in the season. We got to really just win every game, and that’s the mindset of going 1-0 every week. It’ll be a good test for us.”

Prediction: The Packers have at least two takeaways in five consecutive games. If they can do it again, they’ll win.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has said numerous times that college scouting reports translate to NFL free agency. So, here are seven former top-50 prospects who could interst the Packers at the trade deadline. ⬇️https://t.co/eQjXXhCopU

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 7, 2026