4 Things To Watch As Denver Broncos Face The New England Patriots

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- The Denver Broncos (1-3) look for their second win of the year as they travel to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots (2-2). Here are the four things to watch for in Sunday's game.

Broncos Road Woes in New England

New England has been a tough place for the Broncos to play as they have lost five-straight at Gillette Stadium. The last time Denver beat the New England on the road was in 2006 when the Broncos won 17-7.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Broncos are 2-5. To put matters worse, the games haven't been close, as the Patriots have beaten the Broncos by an average margin of 20.8 points.

Broncos Must Take Care of the Football

In the Broncos win against the New York Jets, they committed three turnovers, which has been a problem for the team all season. Denver has a -6 turnover margin, which is the second-worst in the NFL (31st).

Denver has turned the ball over eight times, with six coming from interceptions and two on fumbles.

Will Cam Newton or Stephon Gilmore Play on Sunday?

The coronavirus has already made its mark on the Patriots offense as quarterback Cam Newton missed the last game against the Kansas City Chiefs with a positive test. Now this week, the virus could have New England's best defender out of the lineup against the Broncos.

Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to NFL Network. Gilmore is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year and joins Newton and practice squad defensive tackle Bill Murray on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Gilmore has 11 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble this season. The Patriots have an opportunistic defense have forcing eight turnovers, which is the 2nd best in NFL. They also have a solid defense allowing 233.8 passing yards (10th in NFL) and 349 total yards (9th in NFL).

Jerry Jeudy on the Cusp of NFL History

Broncos rookie wide receiver Jerry Jeudy finally got into the end zone last week with this ridiculous catch against the Jets.

Jeudy has 15 catches for 234 yards and a touchdown in the first four games. He needs 50 receiving yards against the Patriots to become the third player since 1970 to record at least 50 yards in each of his first five games to start a career. Terry Glenn reached the feat with New England in 1996 and Terry McLaurin did so with the Washington Football Team in 2019.

He also 66 yards to become the second Broncos rookie WR to reach 300 receiving yards by his fifth game. Former Broncos wide receiver Eddie Royal reached this mark during his rookie season in 2008 with 321 receiving yards by his fifth game.