What to Watch For: Jets vs. Patriots

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Joe Calabro, GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

The New England Patriots (5-0) are set to host the (4-1) New York Jets on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. The winner will take over sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

"It'll be a big challenge this week, work cut out for us, we're going to have to do a good job of matching up in all three phases and handling the things that they do, but they're doing them very well, so it'll be a big challenge for us Sunday," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in his press conference this week.

See the What to Watch For Slideshow Below

The Jets come in with a new head coach in Todd Bowles who will experience the rivalry for the first time, and also face the Patriots as a head coach for the first time.

"They've got a lot of players, number one. They are very smart, very disciplined, very tough, very talented. All the things, I don't have any more adjectives to expand on that nobody else has already said. Tough all the way around at every position. They play the game the right way. They do all the little things, they block, they run, they tackle and they do it for 60 minutes and that's a quality that a lot of people don't have and they have it," Bowles said about the Patriots earlier this week.

Revis Returns

The major story line, other than the battle for first place, is the return of Darrelle Revis to New England. Revis played and won a Super Bowl title with the Patriots last season before leaving in the offseason to go back to New York.

"Going back to play at New England, it'll be fun. It'll be just like it's always been here, and that's how you've got to approach it," Revis said earlier in the week.

When asked about the decision Revis made to leave New England, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said "That's kind of NFL football and free agency and stuff like that. A lot of players have switched teams over the years. We've had a lot of guys come to our team from that team and vice versa. Like I said, I've got a lot of respect for that team and the way they play football and how well they're coached and how well they're playing this year."

Rivalry Renews

The Patriots are 3-1 against the Jets over the last two seasons but this Jets team has a different coach, quarterback, a big time receiver in Brandon Marshall and of course Darrelle Revis on defense.

"It's always been close in this rivalry. We have our fair share of wins and they do, too. It's going to be a battle. They're a team. Any team can be beat any team on any given Sunday. We're familiar with them and they're familiar with us. It's going to be a great game," Revis said.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

For more, see the What to Watch For Slideshow Below.

Related Slideshow: What to Watch For: Jets vs. Patriots

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Dion Lewis

Dion Lewis should be ready for a big game.

Last season against the Jets, Shane Vereen had five catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting and one catch for 12 yards, as well as six rushes for 38 yards in the second week, a game that didn't mean much for the Patriots.

The Patriots running backs have been very effective in the pass game against the Jets so Dion Lewis could have a big role.

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Pass Rush

Jabaal Sheard has been ruled out of the game meaning the Patriots will be without one of their sack leaders.

Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has looked good so far this season for New York but as we have seen from his time in Buffalo, he can and will throw interceptions.

The Patriots will look to Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich and we may even see new comer Akiem Hicks get some more action in this one.

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Revis vs. Edelman

I doubt Darrelle Revis will be on Julian Edelman the entire game, but he will surely match up with him on big 3rd downs and likely in the red zone. Depending on the score, Revis may be on Julian Edelman the entire fourth quarter.

This will be a fascinating matchup to watch.

What it means for the Patriots offense is that guys like Danny Amendola and Keshawn Martin should be ready to see and hopefully catch extra balls this week.

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Malcolm Butler

Malcolm Butler has been in the spot light all season for the Patriots as their new number one corner and this week he will be tested big time.

Butler will likely see time on Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker this week. Marshall has 37 catches for 511 yards and four touchdowns this season, while Decker has 18 catches for 239 yards and four touchdowns.

This brings up the concern for Logan Ryan at the other corner. Ryan held his own for the most part against the Colts, having to cover or at least help cover Marshall or Decker would be a bigger challenge.

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Offensive Line

This week, a banged up Patriots offensive line will face arguably their toughest challenge of the season, the Jets defensive line.

The Patriots will be without Marcus Cannon, already ruled out, which means Cameron Flemming will be filling in. The Jets defense, namely their front seven, comes in with eight sacks on the season. The sack leader is Muhammad Wilkerson with four, followed by linebacker David Harris with two games.

The other issue the offensive line could have is the Jets secondary can cover the Patriots receivers, meaning Brady will have to hold the ball and the offensive line will need to protect longer. New England may have to use a tight end to help block, meaning one less player for Brady to throw too.

The last couple of weeks, the Patriots have protected the offensive line with quick passes. What if those quick passes are not there?