The New York Jets and New England Patriots have had a rivalry for many years now, but things have been incredibly one-sided as Bill Belichick's squad has won the last seven games against Rex Ryan and company. The AFC East rivals like to keep things interesting, but the Patriots are playing at home and have a 6-0 record against New York in the past six games. Both teams are dealing with major injuries on a short week which could make this game a bit more even than normal.
The Jets success will come down to offense and Geno Smith. The quarterback is once against struggling with consistency as he has a 57.1 completion percentage while tossing seven interceptions so far this year. In two games against the Patriots last year, the quarterback went 32 of 68 for 447 yards and one touchdown while getting sacked eight times and throwing four interceptions. The Jets would like to avoid that this year.
New York plans on really pushing the run game this week. The Jets are averaging 151.3 rushing yards in their first four games while putting up just 122 in their last two behind the legs of Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory. The Jets offense must make up for the struggling defense who just lost Dee Milliner for the year. The team gave up 300 yards rushing in their last two matchups, which could be contributing to their struggles.
New England is starting to hit their stride, especially on offense. Tom Brady is looking like his old self again. In his past two games, he has gone 50 of 72 for 653 yards and six touchdowns. That certainly silenced talk of a benching. Brandon LaFell and Rob Gronkowski are thriving, while Julian Edelman leads the unit. The issue will be the ground game. The Patriots have lost Stevan Ridley for the year and will rely on Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden to keep the offense balanced enough.
