3 Matchups To Watch in Patriots' Week 10 Game vs. Ravens

Two vastly different running quarterbacks sit at the center of Sunday night's matchup.

The New England Patriots bounced back from a four-game losing streak on Monday night, but they could be staring down yet another loss this weekend if history has anything to say about it.

New England will host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football, just about one year after the Ravens ended the Patriots’ undefeated 2019 season on Sunday Night Football. The Ravens are the favorites this time around, so the Patriots will have to eke out little victories all over the field in order to defend their home turf.

PatriotMaven is breaking down the three most important matchups before every game all season long, with Sunday’s game against the Ravens next up on the slate. 

Cam Newton vs. Patrick Queen

Queen was on the board for the Patriots at No. 23 in last April’s draft, but they traded out of the first round and tried to fix their linebacker woes elsewhere.

While Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings have struggled to stay on the field, Queen has been one of the best defensive rookies in the league halfway through this season. Queen’s speed and versatility have made him a great weapon for John Harbaugh’s defense so far this year.

James White has been lacking as of late, and Damien Harris is injured. The Patriots don’t have a reliable tight end and haven’t in nearly two years.

That means the athletic and do-it-all Queen could very well be a spy for Newton on the ground and in the flats on Sunday night. Newton has nearly a decade of experience over Queen, but the young linebacker has been on a tear in 2020.

Queen has the ability at a young age to keep an eye on quarterbacks and get from point A to point B faster than any other linebacker on his team. If he can prove that again against a power running Newton, the Patriots might struggle to move the ball at all this weekend.

Stephon Gilmore vs. Marquise Brown

Gilmore hasn’t played in three weeks, and he’ll have his work cut out for him if he does actually make his return Sunday night.

Taking the No. 1 corner role won’t be much of a battle for Gilmore, since J.C. Jackson got torched by the Jets on Monday night and showed that he isn’t ready to take over for the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year just yet.

Gilmore hasn’t exactly played up to that level when he has been on the field in 2020, but he proved he still has the goods against the Chiefs earlier in the season. His hands were full that night, and they will be again against Brown and the Ravens’ speedy playmakers this time as well.

Brown has dropped off a bit this season as well, only breaking the 75-yard mark three times in eight games this season. While his yards per game went up, he is not scoring nearly as many touchdowns or breaking off as many chunk plays this time around.

People have been waiting for a breakout performance from Hollywood Brown for weeks, and it is up to Gilmore – or potentially Jackson, if Gilmore is not healthy enough to play – to make sure that doesn’t happen in Foxboro.

Bill Belichick vs. Lamar Jackson

Jackson made headlines this week when he said opponents have been calling out the Ravens’ plays at the line of scrimmage this year.

Basically, Jackson and the once-explosive Baltimore offense is becoming predictable.

Who better to take advantage of that than coach Belichick?

In any other year, Belichick’s defense would certainly be first in line to take advantage of a young, mobile quarterback who the league has started to figure out. But this year’s Patriots allowed over 190 rushing yards in Weeks 7 and 8.

Even when the run defense stepped up against the Jets in Week 9, the secondary allowed 257 yards and three touchdowns to Joe Flacco.

Jackson can throw a real deep ball, and his legs are obviously his biggest weapons. That doesn’t bode well for a Patriots defense that Jackson carved up for two rushing touchdowns and a 107.7 passer rating the last time they faced off in 2019.

Belichick’s defense needs to limit Jackson early so the future Hall of Fame coach can dictate the Ravens’ play calling the rest of the night.