Hey Pats fans, I don’t think any of us are looking to hash out what happened Monday night, right? The whole Mac Jones–Bailey Zappe disaster. The defense was unable to stop a nosebleed. Jake Bailey suddenly forgot how to punt a football. I think we can bury that ball under the turf of Gillette Stadium. Scratch that, make it the parking lot where Foxboro Stadium used to be.
This week, the Patriots found a familiar opponent. They’ll travel to East Rutherford, New Jersey to take on the Jets. Though these aren’t the same Jets that got smacked 54-13 in their last meeting. They aren’t the punching bags that Belichick loves to torment anymore. They’re 5-2 and surprisingly impressive. Though it hasn’t been thanks to a huge leap from second-year quarterback Zach Wilson.
It’s been relying on a strong run game that used to be led by rookie Breece Hall (now Michael Carter and newly acquired James Robinson will lead the charge) and an opportunistic defense. As well as some good fortune. Relying on a crazy comeback against Cleveland and facing a backup quarterback against Denver last week.
Bob Saleh seems to have this franchise pointing in the right direction, and the Patriots seem to be in a tornado. Can they right the ship against their bitter rival? Here’s what they’ll have to do if that’s the case. Set it up, Bailey!… or whoever replaces him after the tryouts this week. And let’s get this preview below.
Three Keys to the Game
Key #1: Try again with Mac Jones
Jones needs a hard reset this season. He started off poor, and he came back just as bad. Maybe for a multitude of different reasons. He was rusty taking four weeks off and not taking the full reps of any practice until this week. And by the time he came back to play, his own fans of him were hostile towards him. Booing when he made a mistake and called for his backup at the first sign of trouble.
The second-year signal caller needs a fresh start. And that’s on both him and the coaches. He needs to play better and follow the program if he’s not already. The coaches need to give him the same opportunities they gave Zappe and play to his strengths from him. If they do that? We might just get a more relaxed and capable Mac. Instead of the turnover machine, we saw in the first three weeks of the year.
Key #2: Play Defense
Can I dumb it down any further? This unit was made foolish by Justin Fields and David Montgomery. The Pats allowed 243 yards and two scores on 45 attempts between all the rushers. They’re facing a similar opponent as far as tendencies go with the Jets. When Zach Wilson is allowed to throw the ball? He’s erratic and he will happily give you one or two turnovers. So, force him to beat you and stop the run, unlike last week. Simply step up, don’t get cute, and as Bill Belichick loves to say; “DO YOUR JOB”.
Key #3: Control the football
Last week, the Pats didn’t do a great job of keeping the turnovers to a minimum. Jones threw a pick, Zappe threw two picks, and fumbled on an end around Jakobi Meyers. All of those drives for Chicago ended in points.
Historically the Jets will be apt to give you a couple of opportunities to take the ball away. The Bears did too. You didn’t take advantage last week. Another mistake to correct here in a divisional matchup against a team who hasn’t beaten you in 12 straight meetings and is arguably better than you. The Pats need to play the smart, disciplined, Belichickian style of football they’ve been known for. Even in the post-Brady era.
X-Factor: Cole Strange
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The first-round rookie that everybody laughed about, is actually playing pretty well. This week though, he faces a threat on the defensive line in Quinnen Williams. The Patriots have been pretty bad as of late stopping the number one pass rusher of the opponent. Last week it was Robert Quinn, the week before that was Myles Garrett. If they want to keep Mac Jones clean and give him the opportunities to play well, they have to stop Big Q. Strange and James Ferentz (in for the convicted David Andrews) will take on the task of doing such a thing.
Closing Thoughts/Predictions
It always gives me a chuckle when Bill Belichick just casually drops a 50-point effort on the New York Jets. You’d think 22 years of pure domination while being the head coach of the Patriots would let that bad blood go aside. But nope, Belichick always shows up and shows out for these matchups.
As for this one? I can’t see a 50-burger coming out in the Meadowlands. This offense just isn’t there. But so long as there’s no quarterback mischief and the Pats pick a guy and ride with him, as it seems they’ve done with Mac Jones? This offense should be capable.
defensively? They’ll need to improve, or the Jets will rock them just like the Bears did. It’s a similar build team. If they can learn from their mistakes of Monday Night and pressure Zach Wilson, who is the worst quarterback under pressure in the NFL, they’ll get the necessary opportunities to win.
Give me the Patriots in this one. It’s a must-win matchup for them and the Jets may be getting too big for their britches after beating the miserable Packers in Lambeau Field last weekend. It’s a trap game for the Jets (despite the Patriots somehow being the favorite on Draft Kings). And they’re not a mature enough team for me to say they won’t fall for it.
Final Score: 31-23, Patriots win (Improve to 4-4)
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