For the second time in five days, much attention will be on New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown and whether he will finally have a breakout game for his new team. After a 3-catch-for-10-targets day on Sunday against the Jets, which included many dropped passes he is paid to make, many fans and analysts want to see something, and they want it now.

Elsewhere on the field, though, there could be a matchup that defines whether the passing game takes off for New England. If Brown hasn't shaken off the rust, Drake Maye will need to rely on Hunter Henry, Efton Chism III, Kyle Williams, and specifically DeMario "Pop" Douglas.

Bears nickel cornerback and Kyler Gordon will likely get plenty of reps against Douglas on Thursday evening. With A.J. Brown likely matching up against Jaylon Johnson or Tyrique Stevenson, Grodon, who had a surge in his style of play against the Falcons last week, will handle whoever the Patriots decide to throw at him in the slot.

Douglas brings sharp route running that has been a key highlight of the Patriots offense these past weeks after a slow start, as well as strong yards-after-catch creation due to such a fast release. Gordon, however, is a solid open-field tackler who knows how to throw a receiver off at the line of scrimmage.

If the Patriots can't get Brown going as a deep threat, they'll have to lean on their run game and short-yardage passing. If Douglas sees Gordon across from him at the line, he will have to match his physicality, since Gordon can throw a slot receiver off his route early. If Douglas can slip through all of this with his quickness, the Patriots can get the ball moving on 5-10 yard passes to keep drives moving.

Plays like this could be key on third downs. The Patriots rely heavily on Douglas to run clean routes on mid-yardage third downs; his volume may not be high, but he's been a big threat in the clutch. Of his eight third-down catches, seven have resulted in a fresh set of downs. 

If Gordon gets the best of him, though, the Patriots offense could find itself in an offensive rut it can't get out of all night.

Drake Maye has looked extremely comfortable in the pocket the last three weeks, and he's playing with the same calmness we saw last season when defenders are close to sacking him. Still, it will benefit him greatly to know when to read if a defensive back like Gordon is going to make a move on him rather than one of his receivers.

Chicago likes to use Gordon as an extra pass rusher, and in his return to action last week against the Falcons, Gordon played 17 defensive snaps (31%) and blitzed on 9 of them, for a 57.1% blitz rate.

He generated pressure on five of those blitzes and recorded three sacks, four solo tackles, three tackles for loss, two QB hits, and two forced fumbles.

Moral of the story: in a short week, the Patriots offense needs to keep its eyes on number 6 on Thursday Night Football.

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