The New England Patriots return home for the final game before their bye week. In between are the Indianapolis Colts, who improve to 4-9 on the year and must win if they want to keep their slim postseason hopes alive.

In order for the Patriots to play spoiler, they will rely on the following players.

Patriots Gameday Lineup: Week 13 vs. Colts

Quarterback (2): Drake Maye (10), Jacoby Brissett (7)

Running back (3): Rhamondre Stevenson (38), Antonio Gibson (4 | KR), JaMycal Hasty (39 | KR)

Wide receivers (5): Kayshon Boutte (9), DeMario Douglas (3), Kendrick Bourne (84), Ja’Lynn Polk (1), Javon Baker (6)

Tight end (3): Hunter Henry (85), Austin Hooper (81), Jaheim Bell (88)

Offensive tackle (3): Vederian Lowe (59 | LT), Demontrey Jacobs (75 | RT), Sidy Sow (62)

Interior offensive line (5): Layden Robinson (63 | LG), Ben Brown (77 | C), Michael Onwenu (71 | RG), Lecitus Smith (68), Michael Jordan (74 | HP increase)

Inner defensive line (7): Christian Barmore (90), Davon Godchaux (92), Keion White (99), Deatrich Wise Jr. (91), Daniel Ekuale (95), Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98), Eric Johnson (96)

Defensive edge (3): Anfernee Jennings (33), Yannick Ngakoue (55), Keshawn Banks (51)

Linebackers (3): Jahlani Tavai (48), Christian Elliss (53), Sione Takitaki (16)

Cornerback (6): Christian Gonzalez (0), Marcus Jones (25 | PR), Jonathan Jones (31), Alex Austin (28), Marcellas Dial Jr. (27), Isaiah Bolden (29)

Security (5): Kyle Dugger (23), Jabrill Peppers (5), Jaylinn Hawkins (21), Dell Pettus (24), Brenden Schooler (41),

Specialists (3): Joey Slye (13 | K), Bryce Baringer (17 | P | H), Joe Cardona (49 | LS)

The biggest development heading into Sunday’s game is the return of safety Jabrill Peppers, who missed the last eight games on the commissioner’s exempt list after an arrest in early October. While his legal status remains unclear pending a jury trial in January, he is now back on the pitch – a move that led to a security deadlock that was resolved by Marte Mapu being given a healthy scratch.

Mapu’s season was one full of ups and downs. He began the year on injured reserve but played nearly 100 percent of the snaps in the weeks following his comeback in Week 5. However, a neck injury suffered in Week 9 has limited him since then. He was taken off the practice report this week but still won’t play against the Colts.

Is his neck to blame? Or are there performance-related reasons? Time will tell, but his deactivation adds another chapter to a busy and not always positive second year campaign.

As for the rest of the matchday line-up, there are hardly any surprises. One position to keep an eye on will be left defense, where the team recently released 11-game starter Michael Jordan. However, after clearing waivers, he was re-signed via the practice squad and subsequently selected for the Colts game. The expectation is still that rookie Layden Robinson will start ahead of him at LG, but having him on the roster isn’t a bad thing from a depth perspective.

Patriots reserves

Inactive (7): OL Lester Cotton, ED Titus Leo, S Marte Mapu, QB Joe Milton III (emergency QB), WR KJ Osborn, OL Tyrese Robinson, DT Jaquelin Roy

Training squad (14): OL Liam Fornadel, LB Joe Giles-Harris, RB Kevin Harris, CB DJ James, RB Terrell Jennings, OT Caleb Jones, S Mark Perry, TE Mitchell Wilcox, TE Jack Westover, WR John Jiles, DT Marcus Harris, CB Miles Battle, WR Braylon Sanders, LB Monty Rice

International training squad (1): ED Jotham Russell

Reserve/left squad (1): OT Chukwuma Okorafor

Reserve/PUP (1): OL Cole Strange (PUP Returns)

Injured Reserve (7): C David Andrews, OL Jake Andrews, LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, WR JaQuae Jackson, LB Curtis Jacobs, OT Caedan Wallace, ED Oshane Ximines

The big change when it comes to the Patriots’ reserves this week is the return of the aforementioned Jabrill Peppers from the Commissioner’s Exempt List. The clock also continues to tick for offensive lineman Cole Strange.

The Patriots’ Week 13 game against the Colts will kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium.