There are two matchups in Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season that could end up being Super Bowl previews. Although the Buffalo Bills-Minnesota Vikings matchup on Monday night is getting all the attention, the NFL world shouldn't sleep on the Green Bay Packers going on the road to face off against the reigning AFC champion New England Patriots.
The Packers and Patriots each boast their own MVP candidates in Jordan Love and Drake Maye. Both of these teams had major struggles earlier in the season and have hit somewhat of a stride as of late.
With both teams entering the week at 5-3, this may be a non-conference matchup, but it's one that will have massive implications as the second half of the season gets underway.
Let's take a look at a trio of bold predictions we hope come to pass on the way to the Packers' sixth win of the season.
Bold predictions for Packers-Patriots includes Jordan Love masterclass
1. Jordan Love throws for 330 (or more) yards
Jordan Love throwing for 330 or more yards isn't exactly bold considering his history of slinging the rock around the yard, but against the Patriots' defense? It's definitely bold.
The Patriots have only given up 250-plus passing yards twice this season: Once in a blowout win over the Las Vegas Raiders (who racked up a bunch of yards in garbage time) and once in their loss to the Chicago Bears. If you want to throw this game in there, they also gave up 249 in their win over the Bills earlier this season.
They haven't exactly played the best lineup of passers so far this season, either, but nobody has thrown for 300-plus on these guys yet. And that's going to change in Week 9.
Love has averaged 301 passing yards over the last four weeks. He's going to go off and put on an MVP-level show against the Patriots on Sunday.
2. Jonathan Gannon's defense racks up three takeaways
If there's one thing the Patriots have struggled with offensively this season, it's giving the ball away.
That should be music to Jonathan Gannon's ears.
The Patriots have 15 giveaways so far this season, 29th in the NFL. The Packers have 15 takeaways this season, the second-most in the league. This is the exact recipe you follow when you're trying to go on the road and beat a team that is undefeated (3-0) in their own house.
How have the Packers racked up this many takeaways? The pass rush has exceeded expectations, helping them force at least two turnovers defensively in every game over the past five weeks.
Drake Maye has only one interception and one fumble over the last month. He's locked in after a tough first four weeks this season. The Packers are going to have to force him into making some bad throws, which he's shown he's willing to do under pressure this season.
3. The Packers have 100 yards rushing as a team
Let's just keep manifesting something positive for the running game, shall we?
The Packers are dead last in the NFL in the running game offensively. They are averaging 2.9 yards per carry. Even with a matchup against the league's worst run defense last week, the Packers weren't up to the task. They had just 66 rushing yards against a team that gave up 258 yards the week prior and 291 yards on the ground earlier this season (vs. the Bears).
The Patriots have the sixth-best run defense in the NFL and rank 10th in yards per carry allowed (3.8 YPC).
There is no analytical basis for the idea that the Packers would run for 100-plus against New England -- this is strictly speaking into existence this team finding a way to run the ball for once.
The most rushing yards the Packers have had in a game this season as a team is 86. It's time to hit triple digits.
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