The New England Patriots square off against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, and both teams need to reach a 2-1 record this weekend. The Patriots are coming off a home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning 20-3.

On the other hand, the Jacksonville Jaguars enter this matchup after a 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos. Oddly, both have similar voids to fill to prove they deserve to be at the forefront of the conversation as winning teams out of the gate in 2026.

For the Patriots, they're going to need to have to put up points against this Jaguars defense, which comes with an edge rush led by the likes of Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. It's going to be a test for an offensive line that has not proved its worth yet in the first few weeks of the regular season.

Can the fragile offensive line find a way to disrupt the Jaguars' pass rush? Let's break things down and see. 

Off the bat, the Patriots offensive line is in some trouble. Right guard Mike Onwenu was carted off the field last Sunday with a gruesome ankle injury that has left the team no choice but to put him on injured reserve.

Onwenu is one of the league's best pass protectors. PFF ranked him 20th last season and the 5th-best pass-blocking guard in the NFL, with a stellar 78.2 pass-blocking grade. Onwenu kept the Patriots' interior pass-blocking on lock; expect the Jaguars to exploit it on Sunday with him out.

To add to that, right tackle Morgan Moses was limited in Wednesday's practice due to a foot injury. There is no word on his availability come Sunday. The Patriots could use some stunt packages as well, but at times, with rotational players on the offensive line, communication can lag out of the gate.

Expect New England to also consider using tight end Tanner Arkin, as he is more of a blocking tight end to aid the pass rush. They'll need all the help they can get.

You hate not seeing Drake Maye sling it downfield for four quarters, but then again, he's thrown four interceptions in two games. It might be best, out of the gate, to rely on running backs TreyVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson early on.

The reason is that running at the edge rush of Hines-Allen and Walker could be key in tiring them out early on and having the Jaguars' edge rush run out of steam by the second half. The flip side is whether Henderson speeds things up in the trenches and whether Stevenson maintains good ball security.

Stevenson fumbled against the Steelers last week, and despite Henderson's 39-yard touchdown run, he averaged only 2.47 yards per carry outside of that. The game could be on their shoulders through the first two quarters until offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels finds an opening for Drake Maye to move the ball downfield quickly and put up points.

Keep in mind, Hines-Allen and Walker were both held to very quiet afternoons in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos. Proving that slowing their rushes down is doable. The Jaguars generated 11 total pressures and two sacks in Week 2. The Jags had a lower-than-expected pass rush of 19.4 percent.

A strange number, given a defense that is getting a ton of praise. This should tell you their defensive front can be stalled, but the Patriots will need to dig deep if they want to keep Jacksonville's big guys away from Maye on Sunday.

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