The New England Patriots will visit the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium Thursday night to kickoff Week 3. To help preview the matchup, Mike Dussault of Patriots.com and John Pullano of NYJets.com chatted about the game.
What is your favorite matchup of Patriots-Jets?
MD: I'll go with the Patriots run defense against the Jets rushing attack, but admittedly Breece Hall and Braelon Allen present their toughest challenge yet. They were lucky to miss out on having to face Kenneth Walker last week. Still, they've allowed the second-fewest rushing yards and are third in yards-per-attempt. If they can continue their stout play up front it should keep the game along a similar path to the last two – low scoring and coming down to the very end. Ja'Whaun Bentley's status is a big piece to keep an eye on, he left Sunday's game with a shoulder injury and did not return. He's a key piece of the run defense and just the overall communication on that side of the ball.
JP: I will have my eye on the Jets pass rush against the Patriots offensive line. Despite questions in the preseason about the New England's new-look front, which features new starters at RG, LG and LT, the line has held up well surrendering 4 sacks in 2 games. As for the Jets D-line, they will be figuring out life without pass rusher Jermaine Johnson, who sustained a torn Achilles tendon in Week 2 against the Titans. DE Will McDonald IV registered 3 sacks Sunday and will be expected to help fill the void left by Johnson. If the Jets can't get pressure on Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett, the savvy veteran signal caller could be difficult to contain. Last season, Brissett, while a member of the Commanders, played against the Jets in relief of Sam Howell and threw for 100 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter nearly leading Washington to a 27-7 comeback. On the other hand, if the Jets can continue to get pressure from HC Robert Saleh's rotational pass rush scheme, they could take advantage of an overachieving Patriots offensive line.
The Patriots secondary, that features standout second-year CB Christian Gonzalez, has held two prolific passing offenses – Bengals and Seahawks – to 16.5 points per game. How do you expect that unit to fare against QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Garrett Wilson and the Jets improving pass offense?
MD: The secondary has been competitive against a couple of elite receivers, it has three sticky corners in Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones as complements to Gonzalez, whose smooth athleticism continues to jump off the field. I'd expect Gonzalez will line up on [Garrett] Wilson plenty, even if the defense has leaned more into its zone coverage through two games. The bigger concern for the Patriots is the pass rush. Second-year defensive lineman Keion White has been a force through 2 games with 4 total sacks, but overall, the front just wasn't disruptive enough against Seattle and never got Geno Smith out of rhythm. It doesn't matter how well they cover the Jets receivers if Aaron Rodgers has all day. He could pick them apart worse than Smith did.
JP: With several new starters going into the season, the Jets offense, over the last two weeks, has been steadily showing improvement. The Jets have scored 3-touchdowns in each of their first two games, the first time they have done that accomplished that feat in consecutive games since 2022, and in their Week 2 victory over the Titans scored on 4 of their final 7 possessions to close out the game. But far and away the most encouraging development on offense against Tennessee was the Jets' second-half rushing attacking. Over the final 30 minutes, the Jets ran for 84 yards (5.3 YPC) and a touchdown. If the Jets can carry that effectiveness on the ground, which opened up the pass game, into their home opener, that should be enough for QB Aaron Rodgers to disrupt the rhythm of New England's secondary and keep the Patriots defense guessing.
The Jets saw steady improvements in run defense in their Week 2 victory, allowing only 90 yards to Tennessee running backs. The Patriots, led by Rhamondre Stevenson, have eclipsed 170 yards on the ground in consecutive games to begin the season. What approach do you expect the New England offense to take when attacking this New York defense?
MD: I'd bet it's largely similar, they're going to try to get Rhamondre going early and often. Antonio Gibson had a nice day against the Seahawks with some explosive runs, he's an emerging complement who will also get a fair shar of touches. Their passing game has been so stagnant it's hard to imagine them suddenly putting it all together on the short week. They want to run the ball, control the game, keep scoring down and give themselves a chance at the end. They've been fairly disciplined (just eight penalties and no turnovers) and they've had to be without being able to produce explosive plays through the air. It seems like all avenues to a Patriots victory against the Jets begins and likely ends with them putting up another 150-plus rushing yards.
JP: Despite the departure of future Hall of Fame HC Bill Belichick over the offseason, new HC Jerod Mayo's approach to the game looks eerily similar – play disciplined football, which starts by running the ball to limit mistakes. Stevenson is on tear to start the season with 201 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns over the first 2 games. The expectation will be for the Patriots to ride Stevenson and free agent addition Antonio Gipson (18 attempts for 114 yards this season) again. The Jets successfully bounced back from an uncharacteristic performance in run defense against San Francisco, holding the Titans Tony Pollard to 62 yards (3.6 YPC) on the ground. Potentially not having C.J. Mosley, who sustained a toe injury against the Titans, will be factor. LB Jamien Sherwood, however, played well in relief and had 9 tackles, a TFL and a PD, and should be up for the challenge of again playing alongside All-Pro Quincy Williams. I expect the Jets to put an end to the Patriots' early streak of 100-plus yard running games.
