The 5-6 Patriots head to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers Sunday and the Los Angeles Rams Thursday night. Cam Newton and the offense has had a rocky season. Last week Newton only passed for 85 yards. The defense came up big against Arizona which helped in the win. The offense will have to be better especially Newton who hasn’t shown his best football yet. He’s been in the offense for 12 Weeks and still adapting to it. You can say the COVID-19 diagnosis didn’t help but everyone is dealing with COVID-19. Newton should be better than he is playing 12 Weeks in.

The Patriots Could Sweep These Two Games In Los Angeles

The Patriots could surprise people and come out of this trip 7-6. I still don’t see them making the playoffs but they aren’t out of it yet. If they lose these two games they’ll probably pack the season in and go with Jarrett Stidham. The Chargers quarterback Justin Hebert got some high praise from Belichick this week.

“So, it looks like he’s going be a good quarterback for a long time, a lot to work with and I know he’s a smart, hard-working kid that likes football and I’m sure he will continue to get better, as he has this year throughout the course of the season. He’s improved from the early games that I’ve watched, and like I said, has a lot of good skill players to work with – good tight end, good backs, good receivers. So, yeah, he’s a good player.”

The defense will have to make plays and get to Hebert early. The offense will have to be more productive than these last two weeks. Newton could not only be playing for his job this year but next year as well. He’s on the verge of not getting a contract from anyone but New England. Big test for the Patriots on this road trip that could set up the rest of the season. By next Friday they could be 7-6 and chasing for a playoff spot. Or they could be 5-8, or 6-7 and their season would be gone.

There needs to be a lot of mental toughness going into these two games. The team bonding could benefit well from this trip. Leaders like the McCourty’s and Matthew Slater could lead and inspire that they aren’t out of the playoffs yet. They really need to take this as a game at a time.