Novig pricesPatriots to face a Packers team missing five players, led by LB Zaire Franklin
Green Bay will be without five players, including starting linebacker Zaire Franklin, at Gillette. New England has ruled out A.J. Brown and TreVeyon Henderson.
The Green Bay Packers will be short five players when they visit the New England Patriots on Sunday. The most important absence is Zaire Franklin, their starting middle linebacker, who will miss another game with a fractured shin. Justis Mosqueda of SB Nation reported the final injury designations, and the report was carried on Yahoo Sports.
With Franklin out, Green Bay goes back to the arrangement it has used in recent weeks: Isaiah McDuffie and Ty'Ron Hopper play every snap at linebacker. Mosqueda expects that to bring at least one call-up from the practice squad, most likely to cover the special-teams snaps the two starters usually take. He also noted that the Packers are unlikely to dress more than three running backs or eight offensive linemen in the 48-man game-day group.
New England has its own absences. Receiver A.J. Brown (ankle/knee) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (illness) are ruled out. Seven more players are questionable: safety Kevin Byard III (chest), cornerback Carlton Davis III (neck), tight end Hunter Henry (foot), receiver Mack Hollins (calf), tackle Morgan Moses (foot), safety Brenden Schooler (hamstring) and offensive lineman Greg Van Roten (hamstring). That list covers both starting safeties, a starting corner, the top tight end and two linemen, so Sunday's inactives will matter as much to New England as to Green Bay.
What it means for Sunday
The Patriots are 5-3 and have won four of their last five. They beat Miami 24-19 on the road last week, one week after losing 30-24 in Chicago. They are 3-0 at home, with wins over Pittsburgh (20-3), Las Vegas (45-17) and the Jets (26-19). All three of their losses came on the road. Across eight games they have scored 184 points and allowed 162, an average of 23.0 per game for and about 20.3 against.
Franklin's absence leaves Green Bay's defense thin in the middle. Without Brown or Henderson, though, New England has two fewer playmakers to test that weakness. If Henry and Hollins are limited too, more of the passing game will run through the remaining receivers and backs.
On this site's board, which tracks 12 venues, the Patriots are favored. Novig has New England at -160 on the moneyline and Green Bay at +156. On the spread, Novig lists the Patriots at -3.5 with a price of +106. The best number anywhere for New England is BetMGM's -3 at -110, so the venues disagree on whether the line sits on or past a field goal. The total is 44.5 on Novig, at -108 for the over and +102 for the under. theScore Bet has the best over price at -105 on 44.5, and BetRivers has the best under at -106 on 45. Sportsbook hold ranges from 3.0% to 5.3% across these markets.
After Sunday the Patriots go to Detroit. Early prices on that game are close to even, with Novig at -100 on New England and -117 on the Lions.