Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
NFL: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets
Fresh off of their bye week, the New York Jets prepare to take on the Patriots at Gillett Stadium at 1:00 p.m. The Jets look to snap their 13 game winless streak against the Pats this Sunday.
In order to have better success this time around, quarterback Zach Wilson has to protect the football at all costs. Wilson’s offensive line didn’t give him nearly enough time in the last meeting with New England. However, he made a few very poor decisions. Wilson threw three costly interceptions en route to a 22-17 loss just three weeks ago. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur knows what he is up against and should resort to getting the ball out of Wilson’s hands as quickly as possible. How do you accomplish that? Through taking a page out of Tom Brady’s book, utilize the check downs. Running back James Robinson has that dual threat ability and should be looked at frequently.
Robinson’s first touchdown as a Jet came against the Buffalo Bills a couple weeks ago. It was a seven yard receiving touchdown which widened the score gap between Gang Green and the Bills. Look for the Jets to heavily lean on their backfield duo of Michael Carter and James Robinson.
“This game doesn’t always come down to talent and all that stuff, it comes down to whether or not we can execute at the highest level for 60 minutes… it’s taking care of the football…” head coach Robert Saleh told the media on Wednesday.
The fact of the matter is that the Jets offense needs to play far better than it did in the last meeting because the other side of the ball held their own. The Jets defensive front penetrated the Patriots offensive line that ranks in the top 10 and registered six sacks on quarterback Mac Jones. The defense forced its former kicker, Nick Folk to beat them in that one as well. If the defense can replicate that type of performance this Sunday, the offense must find success.
The Patriots defense is coming off of a nine sack performance against the Indianapolis Colts lead by linebacker Matthew Judon. Judon had three of the six sacks in that game and has had a phenomenal season thus far as he has registered 11.5 total sacks (good for most in the league). The Jets offensive line is a unit that has struggled with injuries all season long. The most recent being right guard Nate Herbig (shin injury) but he is expected to suit up Sunday according to head coach Robert Saleh. Overall, this is a unit that had immense trouble providing a clean pocket for Wilson the last time they went up against the Patriots’ Judon-led defense. Temperatures are expected to be below 40 degrees in Foxborough, Massachusetts this Sunday so it will certainly be a battle in the trenches.
In arguably the hottest division in all of football, this game is gigantic for the green and white. A win would give them a two game lead over New England in the standings and barring a Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills loss, would put them in first place.
Predictions:
Zach Wilson needs to play a mistake free football game and the hogs up front need to buy him enough time to operate against Judon and company. The Jets are now familiar with this Patriots team and Wilson did look stellar prior against Buffalo prior to the bye week. I think the Jets will achieve the upset this week given that the last time these two teams played it was decided by mere field goals. Wilson and the Gang Green defense will lift the Jets over New England 27-21.
Things to Note:
- Wide receiver Corey Davis is trending towards missing another week of football but keep an eye on his status.
- The Jets signed veteran LT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the practice squad yesterday for some offensive line depth.
