Patriots/Jets Week 7 Preview: This Jets Team Is Different, so Patriots Need to Bring Their A-Game
Since last week's Thursday Night Football victory over the New York Giants, the New England Patriots have had a miniature bye week to get healthy and install their gameplan for their matchup against the New York Jets, who they play this upcoming Monday night.
Usually when Bill Belichick has extra time to prepare for an opponent, it does not bode well for that team. With that being said, the Jets are coming off of a huge 24-22 win over the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Sam Darnold continues to gain strength after his mononucleosis illness. Jets head coach Adam Gase finally has the formidable team he envisioned and with MetLife Stadium being an electric atmosphere, the Jets are in a prime position to be a challenging adversary for the Patriots.
Aside from Darnold's return to the field vs. the Cowboys, the Jets also welcome back Jordan Jenkins, Quinnen Williams and C.J. Mosley, three of their best defensive players. Although the return of these key players for the Jets doesn't suddenly make them favorited over the undefeated Patriots, they will certainly put up much more of a fight than we saw in Week 3, when New York rolled out their third string quarterback, Luke Falk.
During his Monday conference call, Belichick spoke very highly of Gase in reaction to the Jets win over the Cowboys.
"Adam (Gase), give him a little extra time, get the quarterback back and iron out a few things and thats not surprising to see," Belichick said via the conference call transcript. Adam showed a big spike in improvement in there offensively. I've seen that many times before when he was with Miami, and through the years, Chicago and Denver and all that.
"He's an excellent coach. I fully expected that things would improve pretty quickly once he had a little time to work on it."
On the New England side of the ball, the dominant Patriots defense will finally be facing the most complete offense they've seen so far this season, which includes Darnold, running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receivers Jamison Crowder and Robby Anderson. Other than New England defensive end Michael Bennett, who has been suspended from the Patriots for a week, the defense is healthy and ready to go for Monday night. The Patriots enter the game having allowed a mere 48 total points (21 have come from turnovers by opposing defenses) to their opponents and have a +142 point differential.
On offense, the Patriots are still in search of some help. This week, the Patriots signed former Jets tight end Eric Tomlinson, and welcomed back tight end Ben Watson and rookie wide receiver N'Keal Harry is eligible to return to practice. Offensive weapons Josh Gordon, Phillip Dorsett and Rex Burkhead are all listed as questionable to play Monday night.
It is no secret that the Patriots are becoming incredibly thin on offense. If it wasn't for a friendly schedule to start the season, the need for another talented wideout may have been needed much sooner.
Come Monday night, Tom Brady will be forced to work with what he's got. Julian Edelman, Sony Michel and James White will need to have big games and the offensive line must protect Brady and create lanes for the running game.
Many people predict that the Jets will give the Patriots all they can handle in this game. For New England to exit MetLife stadium with a 7-0 record, the offense will need to do just enough, as the defense should once again stand tall. New England will look to make it eight straight wins vs. the Jets on Monday night.
