The New York Jets travel to Gillette Stadium on Sunday to face the New England Patriots in a 1 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS, marking the first divisional game of the season for both AFC East rivals. The Jets enter at 2-3 while the Patriots sit at 3-2, with the division-leading Buffalo Bills at 4-1 looming over both teams.
New York has not made the playoffs since 2010 and carries a 13-47 record in AFC East games since that drought began. Jets receiver Garrett Wilson has felt that history firsthand, going 6-18 against division opponents since New York drafted him in 2022. Wilson did not downplay what Sunday means to the Jets’ locker room.
“There’s a premium on this one because it is our first one [in the division]. I don’t know how to exactly put it, but it’s a big-ass game,” Wilson said, according to Bleacher Report.
Jets Vs Patriots Game Information
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 18
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
- TV: CBS
- Weather: 53 degrees, 0% chance of precipitation
Jets Outlook
New York comes in having won two of its last three, including a 17-12 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 5. Braelon Allen powered that victory with 116 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, and he leads the team with 236 yards and two scores on the season. Garrett Wilson added 104 receiving yards and a touchdown in that game and leads the Jets with 374 receiving yards on the year.
The Jets defense has been the strength of Aaron Glenn’s team, allowing the fifth-fewest points per game in the league and ranking 10th in defensive EPA per play, according to Patriots.com. New York’s offense ranks 20th in EPA per play under offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who has built a scheme around a short passing game, outside zone runs and duo concepts. The Jets lead the NFL in short pass rate at 61.5%, and quarterback Geno Smith throws deep on just 8.9% of his attempts, per Patriots.com’s breakdown of the matchup.
New York’s receiving corps is thinner than usual. Running back Breece Hall is listed as doubtful with a right leg quadriceps injury, and receiver Adonai Mitchell is doubtful after finger surgery. Rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq is questionable while in concussion protocol following back-to-back quiet outings, and guard Dylan Parham is doubtful with a knee injury. Tight end Mason Taylor caught all three of his targets for 24 yards against Cleveland and is expected to see a larger role if Sadiq cannot play.
Patriots Outlook
New England has won two straight games under head coach Mike Vrabel, a stretch that includes a 45-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. Quarterback Drake Maye has thrown for 1,228 yards and eight touchdowns against seven interceptions this season, and he snapped a nine-game streak without a turnover-worthy play in the win over Las Vegas, according to Patriots.com. Rhamondre Stevenson leads the Patriots backfield with 227 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Romeo Doubs paces the receivers with 219 yards and two scores.
New England’s offense ranks 11th in EPA per play and its defense ranks 16th, per Patriots.com. The pass defense ranks sixth in the league, but the run defense ranks 30th, a gap the Jets’ ground game could look to exploit.
The Patriots’ injury list includes left tackle Will Campbell, who is questionable with an MCL sprain in his right knee. Defensive tackle Cory Durden is questionable with an illness, and running back TreVeyon Henderson is questionable with a right ankle sprain. Receiver A.J. Brown remains on injured reserve with a right ankle sprain, as does offensive tackle Marcus Bryant with a leg injury.
Key Matchup
New England’s run defense, ranked 30th in the league, faces a Jets rushing attack built around Braelon Allen and outside zone concepts that produced 116 yards against Cleveland. If Will Campbell cannot go at left tackle, the Patriots’ offensive line could be further tested by a Jets front that has racked up 17 sacks this season, tied for the most in the league alongside their 29 tackles for loss.
On the other side, Drake Maye will face a Jets pass defense that Patriots.com ranks sixth in the league, a unit Maye must navigate after turning the ball over seven times already this season. How Maye manages the Jets’ pressure, which has produced 3.4 sacks per game on defense, could shape whether New England’s two-game winning streak continues.
Braelon Allen, RB, Jets
Allen has carried the load for New York’s rushing attack, totaling 236 yards and two touchdowns on 57 carries, and he is coming off his best game of the season against Cleveland.
Garrett Wilson, WR, Jets
Wilson leads the Jets with 374 receiving yards and three touchdowns and has been outspoken about what a divisional win would mean after years of struggle against AFC East opponents.
Drake Maye, QB, Patriots
Maye has thrown for 1,228 yards and eight touchdowns but has also been picked off seven times. He snapped a nine-game streak without a turnover-worthy play last week, a trend New England needs to continue against a Jets defense that has generated takeaways at a steady clip.
What To Watch
Buffalo sits atop the AFC East at 4-1, and a loss Sunday would drop either New York or New England further behind in the division race. For the Jets, it is a chance to snap a long run of poor divisional results and give Garrett Wilson the “big-ass game” result he has been chasing since entering the league in 2022. For the Patriots, extending their winning streak to three games would keep pace with Buffalo and build on the momentum from wins over Buffalo and Las Vegas in recent weeks.
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