The Patriots are taking on the Packers on Sunday Night Football. Refresh this page for the latest from Gillette Stadium.
First quarter
Coin toss
The Packers won the coin toss and chose to defer. The Patriots will receive the opening kickoff.
Red Sox’ victory tour hits Gillette
The World Champion Sox entered the field via duck boat prior to kickoff.
Pregame scenes
Gronkowski, Michel inactive for Patriots
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots are down two potent offensive weapons tonight as tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back Sony Michel were ruled out with lingering injuries.
Gronkowski has been on the injury report in recent weeks with ankle and back woes and missed the win over the Bears two weeks ago but returned for Monday night’s win over the Bills.
Concern that Gronkowski might not suit up for the Packers game first surfaced Wednesday when a subdued Gronkowski spoke to the media after the team’s walkthrough and answered “living” when asked how he was feeling.
He missed the team’s full pads practice on Thursday but did return for Friday’s sweats and shells workout.
The tight end, who hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1, did say his confidence level was “good . . . because we’re winning” before cutting his news conference short.
Michel suffered a knee injury in that Bears game but missed only a few days of practice. He was limited/questionable all week and told reporters Friday that he was feeling “pretty good” leading to speculation that he’d return against the Packers.
Michel is the Patriots leading rusher with 422 yards and his absence meant the team had just two healthy backs (James White and Kenjon Barner) for the second straight week. Against the Bills, receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was the club’s leading rusher.
New England’s other inactives were tight end Jacob Hollister, offensive linemen Shaq Mason, Brian Schwenke, and Cole Croston, and linebacker Nicholas Grigsby.
— Jim McBride
Linebacker Dont’a Hightower is active after missing Monday’s game in Buffalo, and offensive lineman Marcus Cannon is active for the first time in three games after dealing with a concussion.
For the Packers, quarterback Tim Boyle, punter Drew Kaser, cornerback Tony Brown, linebacker Korey Toomer, offensive linemen Justin McCray and Alex Light, and receiver Geronimo Allison were inactive.
Keys to victory
Packers
1. Spread Davante Adams out far and wide. As Bill Belichick said, “Everything’s a problem,” when it comes to Adams. He fights for every ball and is elusive after the catch.
2. Clay Matthews must be a force — but not too forceful (watch those roughing-the-passer calls). He has excellent instincts and a high-revving engine.
3. Giant tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga must keep the Patriots out of Aaron Rodgers’s face. The QB can’t continue to take the punishment he’s absorbed and be effective.
Patriots
1. Tom Brady & Co. must cash in when they get to the red zone. This game could turn into a track meet, and settling for field goals just won’t work against Aaron Rodgers.
2. Identifying and picking up Green Bay’s multiple blitz packages is imperative to give Brady time to run through his reads and his receivers the time to get free.
3. It’ll take a championship effort to rattle Rodgers. Pressure needs to come from everywhere to take away his time and space. Play through the whistle, because this guy sure does.
— Jim McBride
Pregame reading
■ New England vs. Green Bay scouting report: Who has the edge in every phase of the game. (Read more)
■ Report card: We reviewed the first half of the Patriots’ season, sorting items into five categories: Great, Good, Fair, Needs Improvement, and Poor. (Read more)
■ What if Brady and Rodgers were living each other’s reality? The two California kids have been at the top of the NFL for more than a decade, in Brady’s case close to two, each with one team, yet they meet Sunday for just the second time. Wouldn’t it be cool to Freaky Friday them, just to see? (Read more)
■ Christopher L. Gasper: What’s up with Gronkowski is a fair question. It’s one that’s not going away because it’s impossible not to view his play through the lens of his contract, which had performance incentives added to it for the second consecutive season. It creates a compelling soap opera — As the Tight End Earns. (Read more)
■ Chad Finn’s Unconventional Preview: Let’s not confuse Rodgers with Brady as the greatest quarterback of all time. (Read more)
■ Brady is approaching a career milestone, and it has nothing to do with passing. (Read more)
■ Despite ranking in the bottom half of the NFL in points and yards allowed per game, the Green Bay defense has been one of the best in football at generating quarterback pressure, often in creative, disguisable ways. The Packers are tied for third in the NFL with 3.3 sacks per game. (Read more)
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