The New England Patriots lost at home in back-to-back weeks and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2001. Meanwhile, the New York Jets were considered Super Bowl contenders for a short time before Aaron Rodgers went down for the year in their Week 1 opener.
Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has had his fair share of bad games in his career, and the Patriots have his number, as the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft has yet to beat them.
Buy Patriots TicketsIf the Patriots wish to right the ship, they’ll need at least three things to go their way this week against the Jets.
Win turnover battle
The Patriots have always been a defense that creates takeaways, and Wilson is no stranger at creating some of those on his own.
The Patriots, however, have dealt with poor ball security early in games, essentially spotting good teams points early on. If the Jets struggle with turnovers, the Patriots cannot let them back into the game by turning it over themselves.
They need to win the turnover battle this time out and actually put up some points to correct the mistakes they’ve shown in the previous two weeks.
More efficient drives
The Patriots have been very inefficient.
Although they have had more successful drives than last year, it still isn’t enough to be considered an average offense in the NFL.
If the Jets turn the ball over, the Patriots need to capitalize on those chances and make efficient trips down the field. To start, they need to actually run the ball better than they have in the first two weeks. That will allow Mac Jones and the team to play off the run, as opposed to throwing it 42 times per game due to trailing early and often.
I would love to see the Patriots take a step forward and answer any points the Jets may score with some of their own. The Patriots have yet to have a lead or be tied in their first two games.
Shut down the run game
The Jets offense will try to run the ball against a poor Patriots run defense to keep Wilson protected from making mistakes. Not to mention, they still have Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook as a two-headed monster that is far better than anything the Patriots have faced thus far.
The Jets offensive line is not great and also plays a style of football less reliant on RPOs and read options. So there is hope that Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jahlani Tavai and Marte Mapu will have a better impact on the game than they did the first two weeks.
If they still struggle to stop the run, the Patriots will be in for a long game against the Jets.
