Green Bay @ New England preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 13, 2015 ) Green Bay 22, New England 11

Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers often are mentioned in the conversation as the best quarterbacks in the game, but the former NFL Most Valuable Players rarely share the same field. That will change on Sunday night as Brady and Rodgers will square off for only the second time in their stellar careers when the Green Bay Packers pay a visit to the streaking New England Patriots.

Brady and Rodgers are the only active players in the league to have won multiple MVP awards, among the many reasons for the hype surrounding Sunday's matchup. "If you want to study how to play quarterback, you need to watch that game Sunday night because you're going to see all the little things," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "From pure quarterback play, I think this is definitely one you want to watch." Rodgers came up short in his bid to hand the Los Angeles Rams their first loss a week ago and now must fly to the opposite coast to face Brady and a New England squad that has won five straight and is unbeaten at home. "The challenge from my standpoint is knowing we have to be incredibly productive as an offense," Brady said. I know we can't turn it over, I know we're going to have to possess the ball. I know we're going to have to score in the red area."

TV: 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC. LINE: Patriots -5.5. O/U: 56.5

ABOUT THE PACKERS (3-3-1): Green Bay has been fairly one-dimensional on offense as Rodgers is third in the league with an average of 326.1 yards while throwing for 13 touchdowns against only one interception. Although injuries have hindered two of Rodgers' top receivers, Davante Adams has six touchdown catches on the season and has amassed 24 receptions for 405 yards and three scores over the past three games. A cluttered backfield was thinned out this week with the trade of Ty Montgomery, leaving Aaron Jones poised the lead the ground game after posting season highs with 86 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against the Rams. The Packers are No. 5 against the pass (221.7 yards per game) but traded starting safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington this week.

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (6-2): Running back Sony Michel was limited in practice again Thursday after sitting out last week's game due to a knee injury and one of the surprise replacements was wideout Cordarrelle Patterson, who had 10 carries for 38 yards. Tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has not scored since the season opener, did not practice Thursday and was held to three catches in each of his last two games. Brady threw for 324 yards in last week's 25-6 victory at Buffalo, connecting with Julian Edelman nine times for 104 yards (both season highs) and running back James White 10 times for 79 yards, hiking his team-leading totals to 55 catches, 459 yards and six receiving touchdowns. New England is vulnerable to the pass, allowing 277.3 yards per game to rank 27th in the league.

EXTRA POINTS

1. New England seeks its 10 consecutive home win against a Green Bay squad that is 0-3 on the road.

2. Rodgers has a 100-plus passer rating in his last three overall and has at least two TD passes in five of his last six versus AFC foes.

3. Brady has eight TD passes and zero interceptions in his past three at home versus Green Bay.

PREDICTION: Patriots 33, Packers 30