Patriots, unbeaten at Gillette, host Packers in Week 9 meeting of 5-3 teams

The New England Patriots close Week 9 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. ESPN's Week 9 highlights roundup singles it out as a key game between two 5-3 teams. Kickoff is 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox. The Patriots are second in the AFC East and the Packers are fourth in a crowded NFC North, so the winner moves to 6-3 and the loser drops back toward the wild-card pack with half the season left.

The weekend began with a celebration. On Saturday, Rob Gronkowski was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on the plaza outside the stadium, and Tom Brady was in the crowd. ESPN's Mike Reiss reported that Brady was in town because he is calling Sunday's game as Fox's analyst. Gronkowski ended his speech by declaring, "I'm a Patriot for Life," and then spiked a football into the stage.

Injuries are the main football question. On the week's practice report published by Sports Illustrated, receiver A.J. Brown (ankle), tight end Hunter Henry (foot), running back TreVeyon Henderson (illness) and tackle Morgan Moses (foot) were all listed as not practicing. Henry leads the team with 29 catches. Drake Maye, who was listed with a shoulder issue, practiced fully. He has thrown for 1,983 yards and 15 touchdowns. Green Bay had its own concerns. Micah Parsons (knee) and Christian Watson (rib) were limited, and cornerback Keisean Nixon did not practice. Watson leads the Packers with 708 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. Jordan Love has 2,246 passing yards and 16 touchdowns.

What it means for Sunday

The Patriots have been far better at home than on the road. They are 3-0 at Gillette, having beaten Pittsburgh 20-3, Las Vegas 45-17 and the Jets 26-19. That works out to 91 points scored and 39 allowed. Away from home they are 2-3. Over eight games they have scored 184 points and allowed 162. They come in off a 24-19 win at Miami, which followed a 30-24 loss at Chicago.

Green Bay has won four of its last five games. The wins came against Tampa Bay, Chicago, Dallas and Carolina, and the one loss was 20-17 at Detroit. The Packers' latest result was a 27-19 win over the Panthers.

On this site's board, New England is favored across 12 venues. Novig has the Patriots at -160 on the moneyline and the Packers at +156, a narrow gap between the two sides. The venues disagree on the spread. Novig sets the Patriots at -3.5 at +108, and the best number anywhere is DraftKings at -3 for -112. That half-point covers a field goal, which matters here because seven of the Patriots' eight games have been decided by seven points or fewer. Sportsbook hold on the spread runs from 2.5% to 5.1%. The total is 44.5 at Novig, priced -104 on the over and -100 on the under.

The schedule does not ease up after this. New England plays at Detroit on November 15. The early board for that game is close to even, with Novig listing the Patriots at -100 and the Lions at -104. Follow the season on the Patriots team page.