The New England Patriots need a bounce-back win in Week 4 against the Carolina Panthers. After a frustrating loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, the Pats will be facing a Panthers squad coming off an impressive 30-0 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
What used to look like an easy game on the schedule for New England might be far more challenging than anticipated.
On the other hand, the Panthers will be missing a key piece from their offensive attack when they step foot on the turf in Foxboro. Starting tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders is expected to miss multiple weeks with a high ankle sprain that he suffered in the fourth quarter of the Falcons game.
The Athletic’s Joe Person shared MRI results from Sanders on Monday, and the TE is definitely not going to be available against the Patriots.
Tommy Tremble is Carolina’s No. 2 tight end, and he promises to feature more heavily than usual on Sunday. Sanders’ injury is a break for a Patriots defense that did pretty well to mess up Aaron Rodgers’ rhythm in Week 3, although credit in that regard is owed to the defensive line.
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It remains to be seen whether cornerback Christian Gonzalez will make his 2025 debut against the Panthers, but New England’s secondary has sorely missed him.
Patriots-Panthers will be a battle of two teams with 1-2 records who are looking to keep postseason dreams afloat while the season is still young. A 1-3 start for any NFL team is more difficult to climb out of than most people realize.
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