The Patriots are looking to extend their winning streak to seven games when they travel to face the Buccaneers on Sunday, but New England will need to manage injuries to starters on both sides of the ball.

On Friday, the Patriots ruled out starting WR Kayshon Boutte (hamstring), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (toe), and LB Christian Elliss (hip) for Sunday's game in Tampa Bay. As for Tampa Bay, the Bucs ruled out WR Chris Godwin (fibula), RB Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder), EDGE Haason Reddick (ankle/knee), and OLB Markees Watts (hand). Bucs starting right tackle Luke Goedeke (foot) is also listed as questionable after being designated to return from injured reserve this week.

To this point, the Patriots have mostly avoided major injuries to frontline players on their roster, but playing their 10th consecutive game without a bye week is starting to take its toll (New England's bye isn't until Week 14). Hopefully, Boutte, Stevenson, and Elliss won't miss significant time, but this is the second straight game the Patriots will play without their top running back, while Boutte and Elliss were injured in last week's win over the Falcons.

Starting on offense, Boutte has been one of the most productive receivers in the NFL on a per-target basis this season. Due to his great repertoire with QB Drake Maye on deep passes, Boutte has the highest EPA per target (+0.98) and is tied for 14th among 72 qualified receivers in ESPN's receiver score metric. The third-year wideout has been one of the league's best deep threats, which is also a strength of Maye's game, so it stands to reason that Boutte's injury during the Falcons win factored into why the offense only scored three points in the second half.

Earlier this week, head coach Mike Vrabel indicated that rookie WR Kyle Williams will have an increased role without Boutte. Due to the veterans in the room performing well, the third-rounder has had a limited role, playing only 21.1% of the offensive snaps with two catches on six targets. Dating back to training camp, Maye and Williams haven't had many reps together, and that has shown at times during the regular season. The rookie hasn't always been on the same page as his quarterback, leading to some inconsistencies when Maye targets Williams.

That said, the good news is that Williams, the 69th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is creating separation on film. The first-year wideout is also a very good vertical route-runner, with explosive releases that allow him to separate at the line of scrimmage on go routes. Given the rookie's vertical speed and Maye's ability to throw the deep ball, you'd think that it's only a matter of time before the two connect on a deep pass.

Along with veteran WR Mack Hollins, Williams should play more reps at the 'X' receiver spot, with Hollins being featured on early downs and Williams in passing situations. The Patriots will probably stick with a similar mix on the inside with Stefon Diggs and DeMario Douglas running routes in the Z/slot roles, while rookie WR Efton Chism III will likely be active as depth at receiver and kick returner. Although the hope is that Boutte won't miss much time due to his hamstring injury, the Patriots have some depth at wide receiver to play Sunday's game without him.

At running back, New England will play its second consecutive game without Stevenson, who is dealing with a toe injury. Last week, rookie TreVeyon Henderson took over the lead-back role, playing a career-high 51 snaps vs. Atlanta. The Pats also leaned more on first-year RB Terrell Jennings in short-yardage and early-down carries, and Jennings played well in his role, while practice-squad RB D'Ernhest Johnson was elevated for depth purposes at running back and to return kickoffs. Johnson is a strong candidate to be a standard elevation again this week.

The Henderson-Jennings duo performed well enough to get the win last Sunday. However, one area that could be a concern without Stevenson is blitz pickup against a Bucs defense that ranks seventh in the league in blitz rate (35%). Vrabel has noted that Stevenson is the team's best pass protector throughout the season, as the 227-pound running back has the playing strength and awareness to hold his own in that regard.

Last week, the Falcons blitzed Maye on 57.5% of his drop-backs and generated a 45.5% pressure rate when they blitzed. Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles is a notorious blitzer, bringing pressure from all different levels of the defense. To have a good passing game this week, the Patriots backs will need to hold their own in pass protection, or get open quickly out of the backfield to be outlets for Maye when he's blitzed. Given the Bucs blitzing prowess, it might actually be more productive for the Patriots to beat the blitz by passing to the backs rather than having them stay in to help protect Maye in the pocket.

Speaking of protection, starting C Garrett Bradbury is managing a hip injury heading into Sunday's game. The veteran center took a maintenance day on Wednesday, but appears to be good to go for Sunday. Still, it's something worth monitoring against a very good Bucs defensive front. Assuming that Bradbury plays, New England projects to start the same five along the offensive line for the ninth time in 10 games: LT Will Campbell, LG Jared Wilson, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Mike Onwenu, and RT Morgan Moses. The continuity is certainly contributing to the Patriots improvement along the O-Line this season.

Moving over to the defense, the Patriots will also be without starting LB Christian Elliss (hip) in Tampa. Elliss was injured during last week's win over the Falcons, creating some moving parts at linebacker. With captain Robert Spillane manning the MIKE position, Elliss has been the primary weakside linebacker playing next to Spillane at the second level of the defense. Eliss logged a quarterback hit and a hurry as a blitzer before leaving last week's game.

Following his injury, linebackers Jack Gibbens and Marte Mapu mostly replaced Elliss, with Gibbens playing the early down/short-yardage situations and Mapu playing on passing downs. New England also has LB Jahlani Tavai, who could fill in for Elliss, but Tavai only played six snaps on defense last week, primarily playing a role on special teams (21 snaps).

Besides the injury to Elliss, the Patriots defense is mostly healthy. DT Joshua Farmer was managing an ankle injury during the practice week, but won't carry an injury designation into Sunday's game. After leaving last week's game to be evaluated for a concussion, CB Christian Gonzalez is also good to go for a projected matchup vs. Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka.

New England is trying to extend its winning streak to seven games, its longest since the 2021 season, while the Patriots could also open their road slate 5-0 for the seventh time in franchise history. On Saturday, the Patriots will travel to Central Florida, with possible practice-squad elevations expected ahead of their Week 10 game against the Bucs.

The Patriots will then visit the Buccaneers with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

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