Jacksonville @ New England preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 23, 2012 ) New England 23, Jacksonville 16

Tom Brady is 38 years old and coming off an offseason during which he was forced to spend nearly as much time protecting his reputation as he was preparing for the campaign. None of that was evident in the first two weeks for Brady, who will try to continue his hot start when the New England Patriots host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Brady has yet to throw an interception in a league-high 91 pass attempts and threw for seven touchdowns in leading the Patriots to wins over Pittsburgh and Buffalo to begin the campaign. “He has high expectations and high goals for himself,” New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told reporters. “He knows that it's going to take a tremendous amount of work to continue performing at the level that he wants to play at, and he deserves a lot of credit for that.” Jaguars second-year quarterback Blake Bortles does not boast the career resume of Brady but is playing with some confidence after coming off a turnover-free performance in a win over Miami. Jacksonville is looking to post back-to-back victories for the first time since a three-game winning streak bridged November and December in 2013.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Patriots -13.5. O/U: 47.5

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (2-0): While Brady has the offense humming along in high gear, the defense has been more effective than expected in the early going. Forced to switch tactics after watching cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner leave during the offseason, New England is loaded along the front seven and has recorded an NFL-best 11 sacks over the first two weeks. Chandler Jones (three sacks) and Jamie Collins (2.5) will have their sights set on Bortles while Malcolm Butler, Duron Harmon and Logan Ryan, who combined for three interceptions in a win at Buffalo last week, patrol the passing lanes.

ABOUT THE JAGUARS (1-1): Bortles could be missing one of his biggest weapons with running back Denard Robinson (knee) questionable, but rookie T.J. Yeldon is ready to step up. The Alabama product took on the extra workload with 25 carries in last week’s 23-20 triumph over Miami and managed 75 yards. "(Yeldon) can turn a negative-yardage play into a couple-yard gain, and a couple-yard gain into a seven- or eight-yard gain," coach Gus Bradley told reporters. "It's great to see him with the limited reps that he had in preseason to come out and perform like he's doing. Our hope is he only gets better.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Brady needs one more TD pass to become the fourth QB in NFL history with at least 400 (Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Dan Marino).

2. Ryan (shoulder) and New England LB Dont’a Hightower (shoulder) both were limited in practice on Wednesday.

3. Jacksonville G Brandon Linder (shoulder) and T Luke Joeckel (ankle) both are questionable.

PREDICTION: Patriots 38, Jaguars 21