Barth’s 5 things: Patriots need to avoid ‘trap game’ against Saints

It's back to work for the New England Patriots.

Last week the Patriots picked up their most significant win in years, beating the Buffalo Bills 23-20 on the road. The game represented a big step forward in Mike Vrabel's program in his first year as head coach.

It's a big step, but far from the only step. The Patriots still have more games to play, starting this week with a game against the 1-4 New Orleans Saints.

After beating one of the league's best teams, the Patriots will need to bring the same energy against one of the worst. Vrabel talked about keeping that mindset this week.

"We have a job to do. It's the same every week," Vrabel said. "I think if we are consistent each and every week, I think it allows us to get past some of those things. We're disappointed after we lost. Happy when we won, disappointed when we lost. I think we've responded. We'll have to make sure that we're doing everything that we possibly can to prepare to go on and handle another tough environment."

Along with not getting complacent, what else will the Patriots have to worry about this week? Let's get into it in '5 Things'...

The first thing that stands out when looking at the Saints' offense is the team speed. Between Rashid Shaheed, Chris Olave, and Brandin Cooks the wide receiver room sure can run.

While schematically different, that level of speed across the board is a little similar to the Miami Dolphins - a defense that gave the Patriots trouble earlier this year. Once again, the Patriots secondary will likely have to keep up in a track meet.

What should help is that this time around the Patriots should have Christian Gonzalez on the field (although he was added to the injury report on Thursday). Gonzalez did not play against Miami while he was working his way back from his hamstring injury, and his absence was apparent. Marcus Jones' speed played a role in taking away one offensive option, but the Dolphins targeted receivers away from him instead.

The Saints do have key playmakers at other positions, but they may be more banged up heading into this game. Running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Juwan Johnson were both limited at practice Wednesday and Thursday with ankle injuries. That could put more on the plate of the wide receivers.

Where the Patriots should have a definitive advantage against the Saints' offense is up front. New Orleans' offensive line has been one of the worst in the league, both in the pass and run game. Their 37% pressure rate ranks 22nd in the NFL per Next Gen Stats and their running backs are averaging just 0.59 yards before contact which ranks 28th. This could be a game where Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Khyiris Tonga, and the rest of the group up front really tee off.

Just like at the skill positions, the Saints' offensive line is banged up as well. Starting guards Cesar Ruiz and Trevor Penning were both limited on Wednesday with ankle injuries, but were full participants on Thursday. Backup Dillon Radunz has been on the injury report all week as well with a toe injury.

One thing the Saints are doing very well this year? Taking care of the football. New Orleans has turned the ball over just three times this year, and never more than once in a game. They had no turnovers last week in their first win of the year against the New York Giants.

This is the second week in a row the Patriots will face an offense that has not given the ball away (obviously with the talent on Buffalo's offense that comes with a lot more weight). Last week they were able to flip the script on a team that had a record 26-game streak of winning the turnover battle, in what was the first three-turnover game for a Patriots' defense since 2022.

To replicate that his week, keep an eye on how much pressure they get on second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler. While Rattler has only thrown one interception this season, he has nine turnover-worthy plays which is tied for the second-most in the NFL through five weeks. As he makes his 12th career NFL start, can the Patriots force him into some more bad decisions, and then capitalize?

On the other side of things, the Saints had forced just three turnovers through their first four games, then had five takeaways last week against the Giants (on five drives in a row, from the last drive of the first half into the fourth quarter). Ball security has been and will continue to be a major story for the Patriots, and now they'll face a defense that seemed to have something click in the takeaway department last week getting two interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

"They forced five turnovers last week, so they’re great at punching at the ball," quarterback Drake Maye noted this week. "They're going to want to play hard and force turnovers."

With that mention of the Patriots' ball security, let's talk about the Patriots' running back position. The team will need to adjust its plan there after Antonio Gibson's season-ending injury.

Even after not playing most of last week's game, Gibson still ranks fifth on the Patriots with 27 touches - and led the Patriots averaging 4.2 yards per carry (Maye is the only other player on the team over 4.0). Somebody will need to step into that role.

One option is an increased workload for Rhamondre Stevenson. However, after another fumble last week are the Patriots going to give him the ball more? Even after Gibson's injury last week Stevenson carried the ball just six times, although it's worth noting that came as the Patriots threw the ball more in general and his seven carries still led the team.

The other main option is rookie TreVeyon Henderson. There was a lot to like from Henderson in the preseason as an explosive spell back option. However that hasn't translated yet, as he's averaging just 4.5 yards per touch and 3.8 yards per carry. It still looks like the game may be moving a little quickly for him.

There's also only so much the Patriots may want to increase his workload. He's a lot more involved right now than it may feel - his 32 carries and 47 total touches both rank second on the team, just six and four behind Rhamondre Stevenson, respectively. He's been on the field for 39% of the Patriots' total offensive plays. While it's still early, that would be the most by any Patriots spell back under Josh McDaniels going back to the start of his second stint in 2012 (the previous high was James White, who played 38.1% of the snaps in 2016 while LeGarrette Blount played 47.1%).

Henderson has proven he's better as a spell back, evidenced by his breakout season at Ohio State last year when his workload was cut following the addition of Quinshon Judkins by the Buckeyes. In 2024 Henderson had 145 more total yards despite having four fewer touches, which were spread out over 16 games rather than 10. That included rushing for 7.1 yards per carry after going for 5.9 the year before, and 5.3 the year before that.

Then there's the matter of a third back who could help spread the carries out, similar to what Gibson was doing before his injury. With the Patriots not signing anybody this week, the most-likely candidate is second-year UDFA Terrell Jennings. Signed out of Florida A&M last year he appeared in three games, carrying the ball 13 times for 33 yards. He's currently on the Patriots' practice squad and hasn't been elevated yet this year.

At 6-foot, 217 pounds Jennings is a punishing runner who makes defenders work to bring him down. He's also had good ball security in his career - he fumbled just three times on 332 career touches in college, and has not fumbled in the NFL preseason or regular season over the last two years.

Whatever the Patriots end up doing with their run game personnel-wise, things need to improve. Things haven't been bad - having just 12.6% of their run stuffed ranks seventh-lowest in the NFL - the running backs aren't getting much more than what's being given to them either. Collectively the team is averaging just 2.31 yards after contact which ranks 31st in the NFL.

"It's got to be better," Vrabel said this week when asked about the run game. "It has to be better at the line of scrimmage, at the second level, and then continue to try to finish to break some of these. And we’ve had some good runs, just not enough of them. Not enough double-digit runs that help your average. So again, I think that we've got to stop talking about being one guy away or one block away."

As the Patriots try to improve their run game they'll face a Saints defense that is allowing 4.2 yards per carry, which ranks 14th in the NFL. Anchoring that group is 2023 first-round pick Bryan Bresee, and former Patriot Davon Godchaux who was traded to New Orleans in the offseason.

Replacing Gibson goes beyond the Patriots' backfield. He was also one of their two primary kick returners. With Henderson acting as more of a deterrent as anything else so far this year after what he showed in the preseason, that spot next to him is important.

In Sunday's game, Stevenson got the nod and returned two kickoffs a total of 40 yards. However that may have been more of an emergency backup situation than anything, if the Patriots don't want to add more wear-and-tear to their top running back.

That is an important consideration, too. Speaking to the media on Thursday special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said he'd be open to any of the running backs or receivers in that role, but did repeatedly emphasize the importance of having a bigger-body player there given the physicality that comes with the new kickoff return rules.

With no external additions made to the 53-man roster this week, it looks like that role will be filled by somebody already in the building. Again, Jennings could be an option. He lined up deep on kickoffs for the Patriots a couple of times last year and in the preseason, but didn't get a chance to return one.

Recent practice squad signing Jashaun Corbin could be an option, having returned kicks in college and the UFL, as well as this past preseason. However he's never returned a kickoff in an NFL game.

Rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams is another player to watch. At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds he's on the smaller side but he has the open-field ball-carrying skills needed, and it could be a good way for the Patriots to get him more involved as his offensive role continues to develop.

Last week in 5 Things we highlighted the referee crew, which ended up being a significant story in the game. Shawn Hochuli's crew came in top five in the NFL throwing 18.8 flags per game, then exceeded their average with 25 flags on Sunday night.

This week's group of referees, led by Adrian Hill. aren't ranked quite as high as Hochuli's, but are still throw among the most flags in the league. Hill's crew is averaging 18.4 flags per game, which ranks sixth of 18 crews working the NFL. In particular, they're calling offensive hold and false start at a higher rate than average around the league - about one more flag for each call per game.

With Hill working Sunday's game, five of the top six most flag-heavy crews will have worked Patriots games over the first six weeks of the season. The only exception is Week 3, which is tied for their least-penalized game of the year with Clete Blakeman at the helm. Oddly enough the Patriots' opponents have been just as penalized in those games, with an even 43-43 penalty split between the Patriots and their opponents over the first five weeks.

As the Patriots work on lowering their penalties - they're 11th in the league with 9.8 flags against them per game - they'll once again have to do so on a crew that won't give them much leniency. That's something players usually find out about during the week, and need to factor in to their approach in the game in terms of what they can and can't get away with.