What to Watch For: Patriots vs. Jets
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
The Patriots have won back-to-back games in impressive fashion, downing fellow AFC East foe Buffalo 37-22 on Sunday in Buffalo. They will be looking to extend their winning streak to a season-high three games. The Patriots, however have been dealing with a serious bite from the injury bug -- losing Jerod Mayo and Stevan Ridley, reportedly for the season, with knee injuries on Sunday. They are also missing starting guard and captain Dan Connolly along with rookie starting center Bryan Stork due to concussions. The Patriots have also listed Tom Brady as a limited participant in practice with an ankle injury.
As for the Jets -- their struggles have reached disastrous levels with their 1-5 record, losing five consecutive games after downing the Oakland Raiders to start the season. The Jets have allowed 31 points in each of their previous two games, failing to eclipse 205 total yards in either game. In the Jets Week 5 game against the San Diego Chargers, they managed just 74 passing yards between quarterbacks Geno Smith and Michael Vick. In Week 6 against the Denver Broncos, they managed just 31 rushing yards between four men -- quarterback Geno Smith leading the way with 11 yards.
With the two teams heading in seemingly different directions, the Thursday night platform could be the equalizer that the Jets need to pull an upset of their rivals. What should Patriots fans be looking for? Can the Jets really pull the upset? Here are a few items to watch for.
Wild New England Weather:
Mid-October is generally known for cool nights in Foxboro, but this week is bucking that trend. The game-time temperature is expected to be in the mid-60's with heavy rain. These conditions could be the equalizer that the Jets need to stay in the game.
The rain will likely limit the passing options for Tom Brady -- although Brady has performed well in the rain before. This would force the Patriots to run against the Jets vaunted front-seven without their lead back -- Stevan Ridley.
Battling The Injury Bug:
The Patriots have been hit very hard by the injury bug in recent weeks, losing key players all over the field. linebacker Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley are expected to be placed on injured reserve prior to the game, but have not yet and are listed as "OUT" at Patriots practice. The Patriots are also missing offensive linemen Dan Connolly, Bryan Stork and Cameron Fleming as well as safety Nate Ebner from practice.
The Patriots have also seen linebacker Dont'a Hightower miss the previous two games, but will need him to be healthy with Mayo on the shelf. Both Hightower and Jamie Collins are on the injury report, but Collins is expected to play. Another defensive player to keep an eye on is cornerback Brandon Browner. Browner has been sidelined for both games since returning from suspension due to an ankle injury, but said he is ready to play this week.
Tom Brady also continued to be on the injury report with an ankle problem, but is unlikely to miss any game action.
Rushing Attack:
The Patriots rushing attack is severely limited entering Thursday's game. Running back Stevan Ridley is likely gone for the season with a knee injury and the interior of the offensive line is missing Dan Connolly and Bryan Stork. This means that Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden will likely be relied on to run behind an interior line of (left to right) Jordan Devey, Ryan Wendell and Josh Kline.
This depleted group will go against a Jets defense that is 8th in the NFL, allowing 92.2 yards per game. Their front-seven is filled with high draft picks -- Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Quinton Coples to name a few -- which have great team speed and are extremely aggressive.
Prediction: Patriots 27 Jets 10
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