Jets at Patriots in MNF showdown

The New York Jets and New England Patriots have played each other 100 times during the regular season. None of those games is as big as Monday night’s matchup in New England.
Not only is first place at stake in the AFC East standings between the Jets and Patriots, both of whom are 9-2, but also potential playoff seeding. The winner becomes the front runner for the No. 1 seed, while the loser could fall all the way to being the No. 5 seed.
Game time is 5:30 PT with ESPN televising. New England currently is minus 3 ½ with the ‘over/under’ at 45 ½.
The weather forecast is for temperatures in the 20s with a 20 percent chance of snow and winds in the 11 mph range.
“It’s the marquee game of the year,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. Ryan can be blustery but he’s on the mark here.
Right now the Jets hold the tiebreaker based on their 28-14 Week 2 win against the Patriots as three-point home underdogs. The combined 42 points went ‘over’ the 39 ½-point total.
The Patriots have gone 8-1 since that defeat. New England’s youthful defense has shown improvement and Tom Brady is having another masterful season with a 23-to-four touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Brady was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week in leading the Patriots past Detroit, 45-24, on Thanksgiving as six-point road favorites. He was 21-for-27 for 341 yards and four touchdowns against the Lions with a passer rating of 158.3.
New England has won 25 consecutive regular season home games with Brady under center. The Patriots are 11-3 ATS as a home favorite of 3 ½-to-10 points.
The Jets did beat the Patriots at Foxboro two years ago when Matt Cassel was replacing an injured Brady. The Jets were third in total defense entering the weekend, fourth in scoring defense yielding 17 points a game and ranked No. 2 in rushing averaging 148.1 yards per game on the ground behind LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene.
The Patriots have won 12 of the last 16 in the series. The Jets, though, have won eight straight road games, including all five of their away matchups this season. They are 9-2 ATS in their past 11 road contests. The Jets also are 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games at New England.
The Jets didn’t have Santonio Holmes when they defeated the Patriots earlier this season. Holmes has proven to be Mr. Clutch after missing the first four games due to a league suspension. He has helped pull out four victories with decisive plays in the final minute or in overtime.
The Jets just squeaked past Detroit and Cleveland in overtime and needed a touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez to Holmes in the final 10 seconds to defeat Houston. The Jets rolled past Cincinnati last week, 26-10, as 10-point home favorites.
Sanchez and Holmes will try to take advantage of a Patriots defense that entered Week 13 ranked 31st giving up 399.1 yards per game. The Patriots were last in pass defense allowing 288.5 yards through the air.
Injuries have forced Patriots coach Bill Belichick to start a pair of rookie cornerbacks, Devin McCourty and Kyle Arrington. The Jets rated 18th in passing yards at 213.5 yards per game. Sanchez has thrown 16 touchdown passes, but is completing just 55 percent of his passes and has been picked off eight times.
The Jets are banged-up although wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery (groin), offensive right tackle Damien Woody and defensive back Dwight Lowery (concussion) all hope to be able to play.
The ‘over’ has cashed in eight of the Jets’ last 10 games. New England has gone ‘over’ in its last five games. The ‘over’ has cashed during nine of the past 11 times the Patriots have met an AFC foe.