Rex Burkhead isn’t expected to play tonight. That changes expectations for New England’s other running backs. Sony Michel and James White will need to do more.

Burkhead is a significant part of New England’s offense. In the first three weeks of the season he averaged 74 total yards per game – over twice as many as Michel (37) and 18 more than White. He’s their 2nd-best pass-catching back, and he’s the runner of choice behind Michel.

With Burkhead removed from the mix, Michel and White start to look a lot more compelling tonight against a suspect Giants defense.

I am upgrading Michel to 82 rushing yards and 15 receiving yards, with 1.05 touchdowns. That makes him 7th in PPR scoring, 6th in standard, and No. 1 in TD-only. (Yes, strictly for touchdowns, I would start Michel over all other running backs this week, including Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott and Alvin Kamara.)

Previously, Michel ranked 17th in PPR, 14th in standard and 7th in TD-only.

With White, I’ve got him at 46 receiving and 22 rushing yards, with .62 touchdowns. That touchdown projection might seem a little high, but it includes pass catching as well as rushing. I’ve got White flagged as the 3rd-most likely touchdown catcher on this team, behind only Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon. I’ve got him at 19 percent, and with the Patriots probably throwing 2-3 TDs in this game, White starts looking like a 50-50 type proposition to catch a touchdown.

There are other developments going on around the league. Christian McCaffrey returned to practice today. Davante Adams almost certainly won’t play on Monday night. The 49ers will play in Los Angeles without two of their key blockers (left tackle Joe Staley and fullback Kyle Juszcyzk). Todd Gurley has missed some practice time, with Sean McVay saying there’s a chance they’ll put Darrell Henderson on the field for some meaningful carries for the first time. These developments will be discussed thoroughly in Friday supplement that goes out in about 24 hours.

Best of luck in your games.

—Ian Allan