Patriots-Jets Week 3 predictions: Will Pats bounce back on Thursday Night Football?
FOXBORO -- The Patriots will play their only primetime game of the season on Thursday night when they pay a visit to the New York Jets. New England is looking to bounce back from an overtime loss to the Seahawks in Week 2, while the Jets are looking to win a second straight game in their home opener.
Aaron Rodgers is coming off his first win as quarterback of the Jets, after throwing for 176 yards and two touchdowns last week against the Titans. He'll also be looking to snap a Jets losing streak against the Patriots, as New York has lost eight straight home games to their AFC East rival.
The Patriots are dealing with some key injuries, as linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley and starting left tackle Vederian Lowe have both been ruled out. Bentley has likely been lost for the season with a pectoral injury he suffered last Sunday, which will leave a massive hole in the middle of the New England defense.
Will the Patriots' defense be able to keep Rodgers in check? Can the New England offensive line keep opening holes for Rhamondre Stevenson -- and start keeping pass rushers rush away from Jacoby Brissett? The WBZ-TV and CBS Boston sports team makes their picks for Thursday night's Patriots-Jets clash:
Steve Burton, WBZ-TV Sports
The Patriots need to score first. If the Patriots can get ahead and silence the crowd, the Jets will go back to making mistakes. But if the Jets jump out ahead and the Patriots have to play catchup, they could be in for a long night -- especially with Aaron Rodgers leading the way.
Patriots 24, Jets 21
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV Sports
Here's how Jonathan Jones summed up this game on a short week against an AFC East rival: "These games typically come down to fundamentals. Offenses don't have a lot of time to put in a lot of new plays ... so it's gonna be who can execute a basic game plan per se, the best."
I know people are clamoring for the Patriots to throw the ball more, but the game will come down to this for me: In the first two game, the Pats have rushed for 170 and 185 yards, respectively. The Jets' defense has given up 180 and 130 yards rushing, respectively, over the first two weeks.
This is a big game for Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson.
Patriots 17, Jets 14
Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
There is a lot stacked against the Patriots on Thursday night. The loss of Ja'Whaun Bentley is huge for the defense and should open the door for a big game from Breece Hall.
The Patriots will look to answer with Rhamondre Stevenson and he should continue his run of terror against opponents. But unless the Patriots can get their pass game going with short looks to DeMario Douglas and more passes to Ja'Lynn Polk, they aren't going to be able to keep up with Aaron Rodgers and company.
Jets 24, Patriots 13
We'll get you ready for Thursday night's Patriots-Jets game starting at 7 p.m. with Patriots GameDay on TV38 and streaming on CBS News Boston! After the game, tune in to Patriots 5th Quarter on WBZ-TV/TV38 for full reaction and analysis.
