Patriots host Packers in Maye-Love matchup without A.J. Brown and TreVeyon Henderson

The New England Patriots will go into Sunday's meeting with Green Bay without their top two offensive additions. A.J. Brown and TreVeyon Henderson have both been ruled out, so Drake Maye has to keep up his recent form against a Packers team that has been taking the ball away almost every week.

Both teams are 5-3, and they rarely meet, so the 4:25 p.m. kickoff at Gillette Stadium gives each a real early read on where it stands. The Associated Press preview, carried by ESPN, pointed out that this is the first meeting since the Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady years. Brady will be in the Fox booth for his first call at Gillette. Maye has accounted for at least three touchdowns in each of his last five games, and New England won four of them. Jordan Love leads the league with 2,246 passing yards and has 16 touchdown passes. Maye called the game a measuring stick: "We've definitely got a challenge and a chance to see how we look," he told the AP.

The injury report decides how much help Maye gets. Brown will miss a second straight game with a knee problem, according to SB Nation, and has played in only three of nine possible games. ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports reported that Henderson said in a statement that he had been hospitalized for neurological reasons. Hunter Henry, who has been Maye's top target according to Boston.com, is questionable with a foot injury after a limited practice Friday. Mack Hollins (calf) and Greg Van Roten (hamstring) are also questionable as they come back from injured reserve, along with Morgan Moses, Carlton Davis III, Kevin Byard III and Brenden Schooler. Maye was on the report with a right shoulder issue but practiced fully and carries no game status.

Green Bay has its own absences. Micah Parsons, Zaire Franklin, center Sean Rhyan, tackle Travis Glover and tight end Josh Whyle are all out.

What it means for Sunday

New England is 3-0 at home and can open 4-0 at Gillette for the first time since 2019. The record hides an uneven run of form. The Patriots won at Miami 24-19 last week, but before that they lost 30-24 at Chicago, and they are 3-4-1 against the spread. Green Bay is 5-3 against the spread and has won four of its last five games. The Packers have forced multiple takeaways in each of those five, and that is a problem for a New England passing game missing Brown. Green Bay ranks last in the league in rushing at 60.6 yards per game, while the Patriots' secondary has only four interceptions, so this looks like a game Love will try to win through the air.

On this site's odds board, which tracks 12 venues, New England is favored. Novig has the Patriots at -160 on the moneyline and Green Bay at +156. Novig's spread is Patriots -3.5 at +106. The best Patriots price anywhere is BetMGM's -110 at -3, so the venues differ by the half point that sits right on the key number of three. The total is 44.5 at Novig, with the over at -108 and the under at +102. BetRivers has the under at 45. Sportsbook hold on the spread runs from 3.0% to 5.1%.

The Patriots go to Detroit the following week. Early prices on that game list it as close to a pick'em.