The Jets and Patriots first squared off in Week 6 at MetLife Stadium, where the Green & White fell 24-17.
Since, the Patriots have won eight of their nine games and they enter Week 17 atop the AFC with a 12-3 record. New England can lock up the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win Sunday.
In their first meeting of the season, the Jets' secondary played well as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady only completed 53% of his passes and was picked off by cornerback Buster Skrine. Brady has thrown an interception in five consecutive games, which is uncharacteristic of the 18th-year signal caller, who hasn't done so since 2002. With that being said, the 40-year-old leads the league with 4,387 passing yards and the Patriots feature the league's top-rated offense.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski paces the team with 1,084 yards, 69 receptions and eight touchdowns. On the ground, running back Dion Lewis is having a career year. The 5'8", 195-pound Lewis has rushed for 803 yards, which is 520 more than his previous best. The 5'8", 195-pounder is also averaging 5.2 yards per carry and the Patriots feature the 13th ranked rushing attack.
Jets Offensive Rematch to Watch: Jets RBs vs. Patriots DL
The Patriots rank No. 26 against the rush and allow 119.7 yards per game. Conversely, the Jets had success on the ground against the Saints and the Chargers while averaging 160.5 yards and 5.5 yards a clip in that two-week span. If the Green & White can establish a run game, it'll allow the offense to eat up the clock and keep the Pats' offense on the sideline.
Jets Defensive Rematch to Watch: Jets DL/OLBs vs. Tom Brady
The key to slowing down the Patriots offense is to throw Brady off of his rhythm by making him feel uncomfortable in the pocket. As seen in previous matchups and most recently in New England's last loss, if you can get to Brady quickly, there's a higher probability he struggles. as he's not known as a mobile presence. In Week 14 when New England lost to Miami, the Dolphins were able to get a pass rush on Brady and he completed 56% of his passes and threw two interceptions for a rating of 59.5.
