Saints vs. Patriots preview: Highlighting three causes for concern in Week 6

Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season is here, and with that, the New Orleans Saints are set to take on the New England Patriots at home. These two teams have had relatively different seasons, with the Saints entering at 1-4, while the Patriots are 3-2 coming off a victory over the Buffalo Bills. While both sides are coming off a recent win, New England certainly has shown quite a bit more on the field when it comes to production.

This makes it rather easy to find some concerns for New Orleans heading into this game, so here are three of the most notable ones:

1. The Patriots have an extremely potent passing attack

Despite a rushing game that has been less than effective this season, the Patriots have found their stride in the passing attack. With a 73.4% completion rate (No. 2 in NFL), 8.2 yards per attempt (T-No. 5 in NFL), 2 interceptions (T-No. 6 in NFL), and a 37.7% first down rate when passing (No. 9 in NFL), it is clear that New England has been able to produce and be efficient through the air.

This bodes poorly for New Orleans, as their secondary has been mighty unimpressive through the first five games they have played, and despite some step-up moments from Jonas Sanker, they have a lot of room to grow as a unit.

2. Special teams is still not quite right as of yet for the Saints

A weekly issue for the Saints has been their special teams unit, with Blake Grupe being at the forefront. Every time it looks like he has turned a corner, another miss pops up and puts the Saints behind the pace again. He is up to 66.7% on field goals this year, which is second-worst in the NFL overall, behind only Jake Moody, who played one game. Even more impressive, his rate is the same as that of Younghoe Koo, who was cut after one start.

Additionally, punter Kai Kroeger has been extremely hit or miss, with 18 punts going for 841 yards (46.7 average), two of which were touchbacks, and five landing inside the 20-yard line. One of the bigger concerns for him is his allowed return yards. Given his punts have allowed for some easy returns, he is only averaging 34.2 yards per punt after factoring in those yards taken back.

3. Running the ball is going to be a difficult task to accomplish

While the Saints have started to figure out their passing attack to some extent, their rushing game is going to have its work cut out for it this week. The Patriots are among the best run-defending teams in the NFL, with their rankings being as follows: 3.5 Yyrds per carry allowed (tied-No. 3 in NFL), 2 rushing touchdowns allowed (tied-No. 1 in NFL), 428 rushing yards allowed (No. 4 in NFL), 24 rushing first downs allowed (tied-No. 6 in NFL).

Given how highly they rank in many key metrics against the run, it is going to be a tough day for Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller, especially if the offensive line is as hit or miss as it has been.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints vs. Patriots preview: Three causes for concern in Week 6