The New England Patriots will travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Jets this Sunday afternoon in NFL action.
The New England Patriots fell to 0-1 on the season after being defeated by the Miami Dolphins, 17-16, this past Sunday. New England was solid on both ends of the field and looked like they were going to be able to take a late lead, however, Miami was able to run out the clock late after a costly Damien Harris fumble with 3:18 left in the 4th quarter. New England outgained Miami by a 393-259 margin, however, lost the turnover battle by a 2-1 margin in the loss.
Offensively, New England was led by QB Mac Jones who completed 29 of 39 passes for 281 yards & 1 TD. The top receivers for the Jones and the Patriots were Nelson Agholor (5 rec, 72 yards, TD), James White (6 rec, 49 yards), Jakobi Meyers (6 rec, 44 yards), Jonnu Smith (5 rec, 42 yards), & Hunter Henry (3 rec, 31 yards). Leading the way for the Patriots backfield was Damien Harris who had 100 rushing yards on 23 carries.
New England was solid against the Miami rushing attack, holding the Dolphins to just an average of 3.2 yards per carry. Leading the way for the Patriots defense was Kyle Dugger (7 tackles, 1 TFL) & Kyle Van Noy (3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD).
The New York Jets (0-1) also dropped their season opener as New York was defeated by the Carolina Panthers by a 19-14 margin this past Sunday. New York struggled early against Carolina in this one and although they did make it a game late, couldn’t overcome going into halftime trailing by a 16-0 margin. New York was outgained by Carolina by a 381-252 margin which both the Jets and Panthers committed one turnover each.
Offensively, New York was led by WR Corey Davis who had 97 receiving yards & 2 TD’s on 5 receptions. QB Zach Wilson completed 20 of 37 passes for 258 yards, 2 TD, & 1 INT. The other top receivers for the Jets were Braxton Berrios (5 rec, 51 yards), Denzel Mims (1 rec, 40 yards), Tyler Kroft (3 rec, 26 yards), & Ryan Griffin (3 rec, 22 yards). Leading the way for the Jets backfield was Tevin Coleman who had 24 rushing yards on 9 carries.
Defensively, New York was nothing more than average against Carolina and had trouble generating pressure against Sam Donald as the Jets finished the game with just 1 sack. Leading the way for the Jets defense was Del’Shawn Phillips (12 tackles) & John Franklin-Myers (3 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL).
The Patriots are 24-9 ATS vs. a team with a losing record and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a losing home record. The Jets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss, however, are just 5-14 ATS in their last 19 games vs. AFC East opponents.
New England couldn’t pull out a victory against Miami, however, the Patriots still looked the part and have to be encouraged with what they saw from Mac Jones who looked comfortable under center. New York had some encouraging signs in the 2nd half, however, this is a team that looked lost at times against the Panthers and suffered some key injuries, led by LT Mekhi Becton who will be out for 4-6 weeks.
If there is one thing I know when it comes to Bill Belichick and the Patriots is that rookie QB’s going up against him for the first time rarely have success and between the fact that the Patriots defense is their strength and that I think Mac Jones & Damien Harris will be able to put up some points in this one, I think New England does enough to cover this spread. Good Luck!
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
