Packers vs. Patriots: Previewing New England’s Preseason Week 1 Matchup

August 12, 2015   ·   Sterling Xie   ·   Jump to comments

Tom Brady's off-field saga is the big headliner leading up to the New England Patriots' first preseason contest, but with Deflategate's conclusion finally imminent, Thursday night should symbolically be a new chapter.  The Pats are an incorrigible organization that never deviates from its businesslike mentality.  So while it's only preseason, their first contest against the Green Bay Packers will finally place the attention on the field, where it belongs.
Granted, this matchup doesn't have a fraction of the sizzle of last year's much-hyped November matchup.  Including the postseason, the Patriots' 26-21 defeat that afternoon was the only time over the final 15 games of the year when New England lost despite playing its starters.  Excluding a Week 17 defeat when most starters rested, Green Bay was the team's only post-September hiccup en route to Super Bowl XLIX.
Fortunately, if the first preseason game is all about assimilating the team into game-like cond...

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