Foxborough, MA – The Patriots are gearing up for rookie QB Drake Maye's first start against a divisional opponent, and there are some significant pre-game developments at Gillette Stadium.

New England hosts their AFC East rival the New York Jets on Sunday. After listing eight players as questionable on their final injury report earlier this week, the Patriots added two more key contributors to the questionable list on Saturday. Unfortunately, starting safety Kyle Dugger will not play due to an ankle injury on Sunday. On a positive note, coverage ace Brenden Schooler (illness) is active.

The Patriots inactives are S Kyle Dugger (ankle), WR Ja'Lynn Polk (concussion), G Layden Robinson (ankle), DT Daniel Ekuale (abdomen), OLB Joshua Uche, and rookie QB Joe Milton is the emergency third quarterback. The Jets inactives are G Alijah Vera-Tucker, SS Ashtyn Davis, FS Tony Adams, NT Leki Fotu, T Carter Warren, WR Allen Lazard, and RB Israel Abanikanda.

Starting with the defense, the Patriots will be down both starting safeties once again, with Dugger (ankle) and Jabrill Peppers (commissioners list) unavailable. Dugger has been managing an ankle injury he suffered in San Francisco in Week 4. On Saturday, Dugger was added to the injury report after removing him on Friday. During pre-game warmups, Dugger went through a workout with trainers, signaling he was a game-time decision. Apparently, the decision was made for him to be inactive.

Without Dugger, the Patriots will rely on S/LB Marte Mapu and FS Jaylinn Hawkins in the backend. The team also has undrafted rookie Dell Pettus and second-year DB Isaiah Bolden, who have played some safety, while corners Jonathan and Marcus Jones can rotate into the backend as well.

Along the line of scrimmage, starting DT Daniel Ekuale is also inactive after popping up on the injury report during the week. The assumption is that Ekuale tweaked something during practice, going from a full participant to a non-participant in Friday's session. Without Ekuale, expect DTs Jaquelin Roy, Eric Johnson, and Jeremiah Pharms to step into larger roles.

Before moving over to the offense, it's surprising that pass-rusher Joshua Uche is a healthy scratch this week. Uche has logged just one quarterback pressure in 19 pass-rush snaps over the last two weeks. He has also had his issues with setting the edge vs. the run. Still, from this perspective, it could also be the fact that Uche has been in trade deadline rumors.

On offense, both Javon Baker and Tyquan Thornton are active for the Patriots with a few open game-day roster spots. Over the summer, Thornton emerged as a potential contributor during training camp. The speedy wideout won his fair share of reps on vertical routes and was also a presence in the red zone. However, as the physicality increases, the 185-pound receiver has struggled to take his successes on the practice field into a game setting. Thornton has been a solid practice performer, but he's at an inflection point where he needs it to translate on the game field. Baker, on the other hand, is active for the first time since Week 2. It'll be interesting to see if the fourth-round rookie plays any offensive snaps this week.

Along the offensive line, T Vederian Lowe is active for the Patriots after missing last week's game against the Jaguars with an ankle injury. Lowe suffered the injury just 10 snaps into the team's loss to the Texans. With Lowe back in the mix, the expectation is that New England will start the following five linemen: LT Vederian Lowe, LG Michael Jordan, C Ben Brown, RG Mike Onwenu, and RT Trey Jacobs.

The Patriots pass protection has improved since inserting Maye into the starting lineup. Maye has been under pressure on 36.9% of his drop-backs over the last two games compared to a 47.2% pressure rate when veteran Jacoby Brissett was QB1. Some of that is due to the opponent, but Maye's quicker decisions, ability to threaten the deep part of the field, and mobility to buy time have also been a factor.

Although the pass protection has been better, the Patriots are trying to find their run game. Pats running backs are averaging a league-worst 1.9 yards per carry in the last two weeks, while their 3.4 expected rushing yards rank 29th over that span. The onus is on offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to find ways to get this rushing attack rolling. From this perspective, the run blocking is the biggest reason the ground game is an issue, with the Pats averaging -0.2 rushing yards before contact since Week 6 (last in the NFL). Whether it's changing up schemes or better execution, the blocking must improve.

Lastly, special teams ace Brenden Schooler will play through an illness. The special teams are trying to bounce back after allowing a 96-yard punt return touchdown last week. Overall, the Pats rank 16th in special teams DVOA. It's an improvement from last season's 28th-ranked unit, but the group cannot give up game-changing plays like last week.

After their head coach challenged them to play a tougher brand of football, it'll be interesting to see how the Patriots respond to Coach Mayo's comments following last week's loss to the Jaguars. We can debate whether or not Mayo should've shared his thoughts publicly, but the proof is in the pudding: the Patriots haven't run the ball, stopped the run, or covered kicks well recently. We'll see how the players respond.

The Patriots host the Jets in an AFC East showdown with kickoff at 1:00 pm ET at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

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