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Week 5 Fantasy Preview: Saints @ Patriots

By Keith Cork Published October 8, 2023 2 min read

New Orleans Saints (2-2) @ New England Patriots (1-3) Best Lines Available

Saints (-105) @ Patriots (-110): O/U 39
Saints +1 (-110), Patriots -1 (-105)

Writer’s Record:
Bet: 8-13 -5.39u
Lean: 9-6 +3.05u

Oh boy, a real barn burner? Not quite, but it’s always an interesting game when the Patriots, with Belichick at the helm, stare down a winnable game. This one should be circled as a winnable game, and the line for this game has been bouncing as much as we’ve seen in the past 24-48 hours. It’s truly a pick ’em at this point, which is exciting. There’s plenty of doubt for the Saints with a beaten-up Derek Carr or turnover-happy Jameis Winston as the two choices at quarterback at the moment. This Saints defense is slept on at this point and neither of these offenses is intimidating, to say the least. I expect a “muck-it-up” effort on both sides here.

Main Storylines to Watch

Derek Carr’s health: It was questionable to put him on the field last week, but will that have changed just a week later? Is their insistence on getting him out there some kind of indictment on how truly terrible Jameis Winston has been already this season? I have no faith whatsoever in this Saints team if they have to play with Winston under center, but he’s surprised me before. What’s more important to focus on for fantasy players are the weapons around the QBs and how they’re affected.

Can the Patriots put their faith in Mac Jones? The Mac Jones experience reached a new low last week as Mac Jones was benched in the third after a few costly turnovers. He was pretty good in Week 1, then he wasn’t again. He doesn’t have the holy grail of receiving rooms either, so this is really not a great offensive environment in any sense. Now Rhamondre Stevenson is questionable (though he’s expected to play.) Can the Patriots continue to place their trust in Mac Jones’s hands?

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