NEW YORK JETS (6-10) at NEW ENGLAND (4-12)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, FOX
OPENING LINE: Patriots by 2 1/2 according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Jets 5-10-1; Patriots 5-10-1.
SERIES RECORD: Patriots lead 74-54-1.
LAST MEETING: Patriots beat Jets 15-10 in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sept. 24.
LAST WEEK: Jets lost to Browns 37-20; Patriots lost to Bills 27-21.
JETS OFFENSE: OVERALL (31), RUSH (28), PASS (30), SCORING (29).
JETS DEFENSE: OVERALL (5), RUSH (24), PASS (4), SCORING (18).
PATRIOTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (28), RUSH (25), PASS (24), SCORING (32).
PATRIOTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (2), PASS (14), SCORING (17).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Jets minus-7; Patriots minus-10.
JETS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Garrett Wilson. He has 93 catches for 1,008 yards and three touchdowns, making him the first wide receiver in Jets history to have 1,000 or more yards receiving in each of his first two seasons. Wilson is the 16th player in NFL history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career, and has the most catches (176) through a receiver’s first two seasons in franchise history.
PATRIOTS PLAYER TO WATCH: Rookie WR DeMario Douglas. His 47 receptions for 548 yards are the most catches and receiving yards by a Patriots rookie receiver under Belichick. Douglas needs 16 receiving yards for the most receiving yards by a rookie at any position under Belichick.
KEY MATCHUP: Patriots QB Bailey Zappe vs. Jets secondary. This will mark Zappe’s sixth straight start since taking over for Mac Jones. He’s had mixed results over that stretch, throwing for six touchdowns but also six interceptions. He’ll have a tough challenge opposite a Jets defense that ranks fourth in the NFL, allowing just 177 yards per game.
KEY INJURIES: Jets QB Zach Wilson, TE Jeremy Ruckert and OL Jacob Hanson are all out for the game while remaining in the concussion protocol. … QB Aaron Rodgers continues to practice with the team as he rehabilitates from a torn left Achilles tendon, but he won’t play. … Patriots LT Trent Brown began the week sidelined with an illness after being a healthy scratch last week. … CB Myles Bryant also is dealing with an illness, putting his streak of appearing in every game over the past two seasons at risk.
SERIES NOTES: The Patriots have won 15 straight meetings, with the Jets’ most recent win coming Dec. 27, 2015, when Ryan Fitzpatrick connected with Eric Decker for a 6-yard TD in overtime that won it 26-20 in Week 16. … New York has not defeated New England in regulation since the 2010 AFC divisional playoff round. … A win by the Patriots would mark their most consecutive wins over an opponent. New England beat Buffalo 15 straight times from 2003 to 2010. … The Patriots’ seven straight season sweeps over the Jets ranks third all time, behind only the 49ers’ eight straight over the Rams (1990-98) and Dolphins’ 10 straight vs. the Bills (1970-79). … Patriots coach Bill Belichick is 38-11 against the Jets with New England.
STATS AND STUFF: The Jets have the NFL’s longest active playoff drought at 13 seasons, which is also the longest among teams in the four major North American professional sports leagues. New York also clinched its fourth straight season with double-digit losses with its defeat at Cleveland. … The Jets lead the league with 123 accepted penalties, including 26 in their past two games. … QB Trevor Siemian gets his third consecutive start in place of Wilson. He has thrown two TD passes with four interceptions this season. … WR Garrett Wilson is the third receiver in Jets history to have 80 or more receptions in back-to-back seasons, is the ninth player in NFL history to have that many in each of his first two seasons. … RB Breece Hall has 74 catches this season, 14 shy of the franchise record for running backs held by Richie Anderson. … The Jets rank at the bottom of the league in several categories on offense, including third down conversion rate (26.4%) and red zone conversion rate (34.3%). … New York had its streak of 33 straight games without allowing 300 yards passing snapped against Cleveland when Joe Flacco threw for 309 last week. … LB Jermaine Johnson had a fumble recovery and his first career interception (and pick-6) against the Browns. He’s one of only four players in the NFL to have at least six sacks, 15 quarterback pressures, seven passes defensed, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. … A Patriots loss would mark the 178th of Belichick’s career, including the playoffs, which would tie Tom Landry for the most ever. A loss on Sunday would also tie the record of 165 regular-season losses held by Jeff Fisher and Dan Reeves. … The Patriots entered the week leading the NFL, allowing only 3.2 yards per rush. If it holds it would be the lowest by a team since the 2014 Detroit Lions when they allowed 3.17 yards per rush. Since the 1970 merger, only 23 teams have held their opponent to 3.2 yards per rush or fewer. … LBs Kyle Dugger and Jahlani Tavai each finished with 10 total tackles last week - their second double-digit tackle games of the season. Both will look to have their first career back-to-back 10-tackle games. The most recent Patriots player to do so was LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, who had a three-game, 10-tackle streak in 2022. … DL Christian Barmore (8 1/2 sacks) needs 1 1/2 Sunday for his first 10-sack season. He would be the seventh Patriots defensive lineman to reach that mark. … Ezekiel Elliott enters the game second on the team with 46 receptions, behind only Douglas (47). If Elliott winds up leading the team in catches for the season, it will become the second straight season a running back has done so. Rhamondre Stevenson led the team with 69 catches in 2022. Elliott has five total touchdowns in 2023 (three rushing, two receiving). With three more he would have at least eight TDs for the eighth straight season. … Rookie P Bryce Baringer will look to extend his 16-game streak with at least one 50-yard punt. It is currently the longest single-season streak in team history. Zoltan Mesko had a 12-game streak in 2011. Last season, Johnny Hekker (Carolina), Ryan Stonehouse (Tennessee) and Cameron Johnston (Houston) all had at least one 50-yard punt in all 17 games. … Baringer is also leading the NFL with 36 punts inside the 20-yard line. That is tied with Jake Bailey (2019) for the most in team history.
FANTASY TIP: Douglas has 50 or more receiving yards in three of his past four games at home.
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