Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Preview: New England Patriots Pursue Eighth Straight Win vs New York Jets
Episode Date: November 13, 2025New England Patriots look to extend their eight-game win streak as they face the rejuvenated New York Jets, who ride a two-game surge despite a dramatic roster overhaul.Can Breece Hall exploit a Patri...ots run defense that finally showed cracks, or will Mike Vrabel’s squad reassert their dominance under Thursday night lights? Nick Cattles and John Butchko break down Justin Fields’ rocky tenure in New York, examining the impact of Sauce Gardner’s and Quinnen Williams’ blockbuster trades and analyzing how Hall’s explosiveness against Robert Spillane and the Patriots linebackers could shape the game. Key matchups include Jarvis Brownlee Jr.’s challenge covering Patriots playmaker Stefon Diggs and Will Campbell’s battle with edge menace Will McDonald.Special teams could play a pivotal role in this primetime matchup. Will Drake Maye and the Patriots maintain their pace atop the AFC East, or are the Jets ready to play spoiler yet again?Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPatriots?sid=YouTubeLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL#patriots #newenglandpatriotsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at https://BetterHelp.com/lockedon.RipplingGet Rippling FREE for 6 months. Terms and conditions apply. See site for details: https://app.rippling.com/legal/promotermsSupply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order.PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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The Jets look to make it three straight wins while the Pats aim to extend their win streak to eight games.
It's a short week, but we're ready to say Lockdown Patriots, Jets crossover.
You are locked on NFL crossover, part of the Locked on podcast network.
Your team every day.
What's happening in?
I am your host of Lockdown Patriots, Nick Cattles, along with the host of Lockdown Jets, John Butchco, for the latest edition of our lockdown crossovers for the 2025 season.
And of course, we are both part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network, kind of a big deal, your team every day.
And on today's crossover episode, we've got our keys to the game and what we think will actually happen tonight.
Also, John and myself will break down the biggest matchups of this primetime divisional game.
But first, let's talk top storylines.
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John Butchco, my guy, nice to work with you again for a second time.
We did the AFC East preview way before the season kicked off.
I think we were probably pretty close.
to where we would be, but the Patriots are obviously exceeding expectations.
I think the Jets are pretty much right around where you thought they would be.
But how's it going for you?
Despite that, it's been a surprise, Nick.
And, you know, welcome to Locked-on, AFC East crossovers.
You know, like we thought, we did that show in the summer,
and we thought everyone picked the Jets to finish last.
I think I actually picked the Jets to finish third ahead of Miami.
But everybody knew that this was going to be.
be a reset year for the Jets. It's a first year coach. It's a first year GM. They were cleaning
out from an all in plan the last two years that did not pan out. This was a team that was very
limited in their cap space this offseason. There were there were pretty glaring holes on
this team. So, you know, if you told me the Jets would be two and seven right now, I would have
believed you, I'd be disappointed. They maybe weren't at three or four wins, but it's not the
biggest shock in the world to see the Jets have a losing record. What nobody saw was the Jets
trading Sauce Gardner because what we did like show was right after the Jets signed Soss Gardner
to a big contract extension. So, you know, at that time, it felt like Soss Gardner was going
to be in green and went through his prime. Well, along comes the trade deadline. The Jets trade
Soss Gardner to Indianapolis for two first round picks and trade Quinn and Williams to Dallas
for a first round pick and a second round pick.
So for the Jets right now, this is a team on a two-game winning streak.
But most of the focus is on what's to come because this team's out of the playoff race.
They're not going to finish the year with a winning record.
But they have eight picks in the top two rounds of the next two draft.
So we have half a season to play.
So we're going to keep talking about.
And, you know, very exciting show today to preview Thursday night football.
But for the Jets, most of the focus is on what's the game.
to come because this is a team that's now very young.
They've got a ton of first and second year guys who are going to play in this game.
And they have a ton of draft picks coming in.
So for the Jets, it's all about the future.
Well, of course, Patriots fans know all about that.
Back-to-back seasons with four wins in 23 and 24.
I would say this should not be a surprise for anybody listening or watching.
Patriots far exceeding expectations.
I had them winning nine games for the season.
They're already obviously at eight.
so they are well ahead of expectations with Mike Vrable
and the hottest team in the NFL right now
coming off the win against Tampa.
With that said, coming off last weekend, John,
what's the biggest story this week in New York?
You know, the biggest story is probably the play of Justin Fields.
It's been a disappointment.
The Jets did beat Cleveland,
but it really was not because of the quarterback play.
The Jets sign Justin Fields this offseason.
hoping that, you know, he could channel his natural talent because this is a guy with a lot of
physical tools. And he's a guy that when he, when he's at, when he plays well, he plays at a really
high level. He lit it up week one against Pittsburgh. The Jets scored 32 points. Three weeks ago in
Cincinnati, right before the Jets by week, they got their first win. It was a game where
Fields entering, entered really struggling. He had a fantastic game. The Jets scored 39 points. The problem is
most of the other games this year
have been really bad. And one of the
stories of Justin Fields' career is
that while his good games are very
good, his bad games are very
bad. And, you know, I think
that, you know, one of the things I always talk about on Locked
on Jets is your bad
games have to be games where you
still do something well. You know,
they have to be games where you know you still
lead the team on a couple of drives, where
you're still able to put points on the board,
where you're still able to fight through things.
It feels like if anything goes
wrong. The Jets just don't have a passing game that day. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I was watching
the game against Cleveland, took a look at that this week to prepare for the game on Thursday
night. And, you know, I got a really good friend that's a Chicago Bears fan who to live through
the Justin Fields experiment and experience. And, you know, he liked Justin Fields. He did.
But the up and down of it all can drive you crazy. And you're right, John, you know, when you look at a
young quarterback. And Justin Fields isn't really young anymore, right? He's been in the league for a
number of years now. But when you look at a younger quarterback, you want to at least have a couple
of flashes, a couple of carrots left for you to kind of, you know, chase after. And I think
Patriots fans last year, you could look at the numbers and, you know, Drake May, his turnover
worthy plays and the turnovers he had, but he still had those flashes of like, okay, wait a minute,
if he can get to that more often, he could be a high level quarterback. And obviously, that's what
he's been this year. And along with the team, you know, Drake May has exceeded expectations
for sure. I think that the biggest story for the Patriots heading into Thursday night is their
run defense. You know, the first, you know, nine weeks of the season, they were dominant. Nobody could
do anything. James Cook could not get past 50 yards. Rico Dowdo could not get past 50 yards.
They faced some good backs. Jalen Warren could not get past 50 yards. You know, they faced a number
of good backs in the first nine weeks
and they were the best run defense
in all of football. Even though they beat
Tampa, they had a little bit of leakage in the
run defense. They gave up a hundred plus
yards for the first time.
A rusher had more than 50 yards.
And so now I think the Patriots trying to figure
out what were the issues. What was it?
The linebacker fits. That could be part of the problem.
The defensive line was
pushed a little bit more than anticipated.
That could be a problem. Chris
Ellis was out last weekend. One of
their starting linebackers with a hip issue.
He's going to be out again on Thursday night with the same hip issue.
I don't know if it's a coincidence that Christian Ellis was not out there and their run defense took a step back.
We'll see.
I thought Jack Gibbons, who replaced Christian Ellis actually played pretty well.
And, you know, so now you're looking at it because, you know, we'll dive into this more in a little bit.
You do not want.
You do not want your run defense, as Joe Ameth once said, struggling as you get ready to play the Jets.
You do not want that to happen.
So it was last week, you know, was that kind of.
kind of a flash in the pan, no big deal, or was that the beginning of maybe some issues?
So I think that's the biggest story.
We'll get into a lot more here on this episode, this crossover episode, because it is a
prime time divisional battle on a cold November, New England night.
And we've got some marquee matchups to look at next.
This is a lockdown Patriots and Jets crossover episode, and we are part of the Lockdown Podcast Network,
your team every day.
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lineup prize picks it's good to be right thank you for making lockdown patriots and
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John Butchcoe with me here, locked on jets, Nick Cattles, locked on Patriots.
John, divisional games can be interesting.
Thursday night football games can be especially unpredictable.
But going into this game, I do think we have some matchups that people should be paying attention to.
I'll let you lead off.
What's one of the marquee matchups that you'll be looking at?
Nick, we touched on it in the first segment.
And normally I will go like one-on-one player versus play.
but I'm going to make an exception here
because I think it's so critical.
It's Breece Hall against the Patriots run defense.
And you really hit the nail on the head
where Patriots through much of the season
had a run defense that's been close to dominant.
The Jets passing game has really struggled.
Aside from that standout game, Justin Fields had three weeks ago in Cincinnati,
the Jets have struggled to do anything moving the ball.
And in that game against Cleveland,
And I don't know why the Jets barely used Brees Hall in the first three quarters of the game.
Hall only got the ball on six of the first 27 plays.
Jets took over on a possession near the end of the third quarter.
From that point forward, Brice Hall got the ball on 16 of the following 20 plays.
I think you've got to find a little bit better balance there because it became pretty predictable at certain points.
During that sequence, Hall took two nine-yard losses, and then neither play was really his fault.
It was, you know, the one was kind of like a botched shotgun snap.
And there were some guys who blew their assignment.
But I think part of the reason they blew their assignments was it was so obvious he was getting the ball at that point.
But Breeze Hall has taken over these last two games.
Jets have two wins this season.
Both games, Breeze Hall has played a huge role.
He's put together dominant performances.
And the way things are going for Justin Fields right now, he's not going to have Garrett Wilson in this game.
Garrett Wilson suffered an knee injury against Cleveland.
and he's out three to four weeks.
So Breece Hall's really the only above-average skill player the Jets have right now.
They're going to lean on him and it's going to be in the run game.
So I think it's going to be very important for Hall to, again,
have a big game against the run defense that, you know,
despite a recent hiccup, has been pretty stingy for most of the year.
I'll take your Breece Hall point, John, and I will double down on that point.
Breeze Hall against specifically the Patriots linebackers,
specifically Robert Spillane.
As you said, the Jets, you know,
Brees Hall is really their only weapon with Garrett Wilson out of this game that would scare you.
I think it Mike Vrable walks into a room this week.
The first name up at the top of the whiteboard offensively is Brees Hall.
It's not Justin Fields, not Tyler Johnson.
It's not anybody else but Brees Hall.
And the thing about Brees Hall that makes him so dangerous, and Jets fans know this,
and Patriots fans, some of them might know this, but he almost always makes the initial guy miss.
He's got that wiggle.
He's very elusive.
And so one of the keys to this game for the Patriots talking about this,
Breeze Hall matchup is you've got to limit his big runs.
He's tied for the third most 10-plus yard runs, which are known as explosives in the NFL.
You get to 10 or more yards on the run game.
He's got 21 of those types of runs this year.
He's, again, tied for the third most in the league.
He is sixth in the NFL and rushing yards over expected with a plus 134.
He is 14th in the NFL in yards after contact with 463.
Oh, and by the way, if that's not enough, he ended up having a 42-yard house call on a screen pass last week against the Brown's defense.
So he is an explosive player and he is enemy number one for the Patriots defense on Thursday night.
If they can't stop Breece Hall, this game all of a sudden gets closer than a lot of people think it's going to be.
John, your matchup number two in this game.
I think Patriots fans should really like Breeze Hall though because two years ago,
teams played a season finale in Foxborough on a snowy day and the Jets won and that's what got
the Patriots in position to draft Drake May. That's right. That's right. He's going to be a hero
in New England. Thank you, Brees. Thank you, Bruce. That was actually we, we, Washington fans
had a lot of tributes to Greg Zerline when the Jets cut him near the office. He made a kick that got
the, the, the commanders, Daniels. But I think my number two matchup is Jarvis Brownlee Jr.
versus Stefan Diggs.
I think we're going to see a lot of this,
a lot of this matchup.
And that's because the Jets suffered an injury at the corner position.
Zerrier Thomas, who was their third round pick this year,
took over for Soss Gardner as an outside corner.
And he suffered a concussion last week against Cleveland.
Jarvis Brownlee Jr. is a guy the Jets acquired in a trade this year from Tennessee.
He plays, he plays mostly in the slot,
but after Thomas went down, he went outside.
So I just think you're going to get this matchup a lot because I think Brownlee's going to play on the outside when the Patriots run two receiver sets.
He'll play inside when the Patriots run three receiver sets.
I know Diggs kind of splits his time.
Brownley's a guy who's, he's been a big part of the Jets run defense so far.
He's an excellent tackler.
He played very well in coverage his first couple of games with the Jets going back to when they, he stepped into the starting lineup in London four weeks ago when the Jets lost to Denver.
Had a few hiccups, though, last week against Cleveland got beaten coverage for first.
a couple of times got lost on a couple of motions.
I'm sure Josh McDaniel saw that,
and he was figuring out ways to utilize those guys,
utilize his receivers to kind of trip Brownlee up a little bit.
And Brownlee's also a guy going back to his Tennessee days,
who has a history of getting a little grabby.
He committed a couple penalties last week.
And, you know, he's having a great year with the Patriots.
I think he's a big part of the reason the Patriots are having such a surprising season.
This is a matchup that Jets are going to need to at least hold their own.
And I mean, I don't know if Brownlee can, I don't know if Proudly can outright win it, but I think
they need to hold Diggs in check.
I think if Diggs has a big game, it's going to be very difficult for the Jets to be in
position to pull off an upset.
John Boucho, you're killing me because two out of my three marquee matchups, my number one
marquee matchup was the linebackers against Reese Hall.
My third marquee matchup, which I'll just talk about right now, was the slot receivers
and receivers for the Patriots against Jarvis Brownley.
Because I obviously watched the Cleveland Browns game, as I said a little bit earlier,
and my goodness, he was bad.
was very bad. And if I'm Josh McDaniels and I'm watching that tape, I'm saying to myself, I've got to
attack that guy. I've got to go after him. And so I think, you know, it'll be interesting to see if
the Jets play as much man coverage as they usually play, given the injury situation. But I think
the Patriots, you know, McDaniels will sprinkle guys in the different spots at receiver. You
know, he'll play some guys outside, then slide him inside. He likes to move around the receivers at
the line of scrimmage. So, you know, Diggs will be primarily in slot. But, you know,
he might mess around a little bit and get on the outside.
Pop Douglas, I think, is another one that Jarvis Brownlee will probably have a very difficult
time because of Pop Douglas's quickness in short spaces.
I just feel like that'll be a tough cover.
And then you've got Kyle Williams, who had that big touchdown last week.
He's another guy that you can kind of move around, but he's mostly been on the outside.
So I agree with your Travis Brownley point.
I think the Patriots will absolutely attack Jarvis Brownley on Thursday night.
I'm going to jump in front of you.
I'm going to give you my third marquee matchup, which was really my second one,
so you can't steal it from me.
Will Campbell versus Will McDonald, the Battle of the Wills.
If Will McDonald plays, which sounds like he's probably going to, right,
he's been limited after missing Monday's practice, but it sounds like he's going to go.
And the exact opposite of Jarvis Brownlee when I'm watching that Brown's Jets film,
Will McDonald was dominant.
He was unbelievable in that football game.
Christy Yamaguchi like spin moves constantly
can drive tackles crazy
he is a very difficult matchup
and Will Campbell of course he's had some ups and downs
last week I thought he had a rough game
especially in the second half against Tampa
and the other thing about Will McDonald is
it doesn't happen a ton but the Jets I noticed
will actually move him to the inside every once in a while
so that that will also open up the eyes of
you know Garrett Bradbury Jared Wilson
Michael Wenu, the inside, the interior of the Patriots offensive line.
But the Patriots, John, they cannot let Will McDonald dominate this game because,
much like Breece Hall, if Will McDonald's living in that backfield,
you're going to have some issues if you're Drake May.
So Will Campbell versus Will McDonald.
I'm sure Will Campbell will have plenty of help through this game to deal with Will
McDonald, but that's a big matchup.
Nick, it's a good thing you jumped in front of me.
I'm not making this up.
That was my third match.
I actually have in my notes, Battle of the Wills, which is the phrase you use.
So great minds think alike.
What can I say?
I think I'll defer to you on that one.
I think you stated it perfectly.
Yeah, I mean, he's just, I was watching it.
And against Cleveland, I mean, man, oh man, man, did he have a day?
And, you know, I think Dylan Gabriel didn't help them at all.
But he was tremendous.
And if that happens on Thursday night, then the Patriots, again,
the game could be a little bit closer than you might.
think. All right, we've got a couple of keys and a prediction. I usually have a rule that I don't
make a prediction on the crossover show, but since the game's on Thursday night, we're going
to give you a prediction as well. So we'll have a couple of keys, a prediction next as we
continue with today's crossover episode of Lockdown Patriots and Lockdown Jets, part of the
Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
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He's John Butchko, Lockdown Jets.
I am Nick Cattels, Lockdown Patriots.
Final segment of this crossover episode,
as we have just copied each other throughout this thing
without knowing we were going to,
getting ready for Thursday night football
between the Jets and the Patriots, a division battle.
Give you a couple keys,
and then we'll get into our prediction.
John Butchko, the floor is yours.
What is your first key?
My first key for the Jets,
and I hate to use such generic analysis like this,
because this is the type of thing you'd hear from like any TV analyst,
but the Jets need to play mistake-free football.
I think everybody knows the Patriots are the better team.
And what the Jets cannot do is hand the Patriots gifts.
One of the reasons the Jets are two and seven this year
is they have frequently played sloppy football.
You know, when you talk about mistackles,
You talk about missing opportunities to force turnovers.
You talk about penalties that did not need to be committed in key spots that help extend the drives.
The Jets just can't play sloppy football.
If the Jets want to win this game, you can't give the Patriots extra chances.
This is a really tough opponent.
Patriots are one of the best teams in the conference this year.
They're playing at a really high level right now.
And they're more talented.
And I think any path to a Jets upset begins with the Jets play.
playing their best football.
Both these teams play their A games.
New England's going to win.
So the Jets need to hope that the Patriots, you know, play their maybe B or C game.
The Jets have to play their A game, though.
If the Jets don't play their A game, they can't win.
And that starts with just taking care of the things you can take care of.
Don't make any errors that are not forced.
And look, the Patriots, they've had their games where they've had turnovers.
Drake May had a bad turnover against Tampa last weekend in the end zone,
one that he certainly wants back.
Patriots had five turnovers against the Steelers and their loss against Pittsburgh.
So, you know, every once in a while they can call off the football up.
And you're dealing with a short week physically and mentally a stressful week, I'm sure.
So I would not totally write off the idea of the Patriots maybe make it a couple of mistakes and turn the ball over.
And then you have a different kind of game.
I'm interested, John, to see if the Patriots play even more man coverage than you usually do.
You know, I'm looking at the Jets and I'm saying without Garrett Wilson, as we mentioned earlier,
not many weapons offensively.
Do you load up against the run?
I know Cleveland played a decent amount of one high safety, obviously trying to slow down
Brise Hall as best as they could.
You know, well, the Patriots slowed up on the run.
They haven't done a ton of stacking the box against opponents.
They've banked on their defensive line and their linebackers to keep the run game in check.
As we mentioned earlier, you know, the first nine weeks, that worked out swimmingly.
And then last week, not so great.
So I wonder if they tweak it a little bit and say, hey, look, no Garrett Wilson.
We're going to go play man coverage.
We're going to shut down their receivers.
We're going to load up against the run.
And we want to create those tight windows for Justin Fields.
Because along with some of the things that Justin does, he loves running the football,
he loves tucking and running and putting his eyes down and not necessarily looking down field.
he's also, you know, been victim of kind of stretches,
maybe even sometimes long stretches of inaccuracy.
So force those tight windows on Justin Fields.
So I'm just interested to see the defensive approach from Mike Vrable's team on Thursday night.
What's a second key for you, John?
Okay, along the lines of what you said, but not this time, not a complete copy.
Okay.
Throw the ball to Breeze Hall more often because of what you mentioned,
because it's going to be tough for this receiver group to make plays.
It's not a group with a ton of talent.
I think we're going to, we may see Adonai Mitchell, who was part of the Soss Gardner trade,
take the field for the first time for the Jets, especially with Wilson out,
John Metchie, who the Jets just got from Philadelphia, a young guy who's had a really rough start to his career,
all the stuff he, all the adversities had to go through.
The Jets are going to give him a chance.
I mean, it's kind of a revamped wide receiver room, but it's not a group with a lot of talent.
It's Breece Hall is a dynamic runner.
He's a guy who can make big plays as a rusher, but he also can make big plays as a receiver.
The Jets have been ignoring him too frequently.
One of the Jets lost in London four weeks ago, Justin Fields had a horrible game.
In fact, the Jets actually had negative net passing yards for that game when you factor in the yarders lost from the nine sacks they had.
They did not target Breece Hall once.
You know, you'd think in a game where your quarterback's really struggling, you'd get the ball to a running back who could make plays in the passing game.
They didn't do it.
Right.
Last week against Cleveland.
Brees Hall only had one target.
It was a screen that he took for a 42-yard touchdown.
The only time they threw him the ball,
you know, might want to throw him the ball again.
So I think throwing the ball to Brees Hall has to be a big part of this game.
And that's, you know, that I think part of that has to be by design.
I think, you know, when the Jets are in their scripted plays,
they should cook up a couple of screens to Brees Hall to see if they can get him loose.
And, you know, the other aspect of this is that if you give those easy completions to Justin Fields,
I mean, there's no guarantees fields has been struggling.
But maybe that's the sort of thing that gets him more comfortable,
that, you know, gets him a little bit of a rhythm that builds his confidence up.
And maybe you can kind of get him going in that way.
So I think it's really important for the Jets to get Brise Hall involved in the passing game.
It's a really smart point.
And the Patriots have at times struggled with their linebackers in coverage,
struggled against running backs at times, struggled against tight ends.
So I think it's a really good point by you.
I would say, and this might sound a little bit.
ridiculous or fringe, but I don't think it is, given this matchup, the Patriots cannot give the Jets
free yards or points due to special teams. Obviously, the Jets had not one, but two returns last
weekend against Cleveland for touchdowns, one punt, one kickoff. And that's not an anomaly. The Jets
are great on special teams, and Mike Vrable pointed it out to the media when he met with them this
week. Evan Lazzar, my friend from Patriots.com, you know, wrote about some of the special team stuff
that the Jets have shown this year.
They're number one, if you believe in DVOA,
which a lot of people do,
and I put a lot of credence in,
the Jets have the best special teams in the NFL and DVOA.
They're number one in kickoffs,
their fifth best in punt returns.
So, you know, in a game like this
where everything matters for the Jets,
and when your offense isn't consistent,
the way you can help your offense is to shorten fields
or maybe steal some points with the return game.
And for the Patriots,
Jeremy Springer, special teams coordinator, big week for him, big week for him.
You want to force the jets into long drives.
You want to, you want to, you know, open the door to Justin Fields to prove that he can
consistently move the ball, 50, 60, 70 yards to put points on the board.
So I think special teams is crucial.
All right.
You've said a lot about this game, but we have not given our prediction.
John Buchko, you can lead.
What are your thoughts?
I hate Thursday night football games to predict because, as I said, at the beginning of this,
they're very unpredictable.
Sometimes teams just don't show up.
It's a divisional matchup.
It's a short week.
What's your prediction, John?
One thing we've learned through the years is that anything can happen, particularly, as you
mentioned on Thursday night football, particularly in a divisional game.
But I really have a tough time seeing the Jets win this game.
This game feels to me like the reverse of when these teams.
played Thursday night last year in week three when the Patriots were clearly, you know,
a team that was in a reset mode. It was actually the high point of the Aaron Rogers era with
the Jets, which says a lot about the Aaron Rogers era. The high point was a week three win over
the Gerard made to go two and one. But it was a game the Jets completely dominated where the Patriots
really had trouble moving the ball offensively. I think that was I think Jacoby Brissette started
that game. I think the jet, I think it's just the reverse. I think this is a bad Jets team.
of like on stage one of their resets.
They don't really have many weapons on offense beyond Brees Hall.
They're pretty one-dimensional on offense.
So, I mean, to me, this feels like the kind of game, I think it's going to be like
a 24-10 kind of game where the Patriots win it comfortably.
I mean, with the caveats, like, I wouldn't be, nothing would surprise me in a game,
a Thursday net game where these two teams get together.
But I think looking at this objectively, the most likely scenario is a pretty comfortable
New England win.
You know, I wouldn't be surprised if this game is closer than people think,
at least through the first three quarters for sure.
It's like a 13 point spread, which is, to me, too many points when you're talking about Thursday night.
The Patriots have not had a buy yet.
So I'm wondering if they're starting to show some of that physical wear and tear.
Kishon, Booty, Ramadre Stevenson, Christian Ellis, those guys will be out.
Terrell Jennings, their backup running back might also be out.
So I think they're starting to feel it a little bit.
So a team that has not had a buy on a short week playing a physical game against Tampa last weekend.
Again, it's a divisional matchup.
Thursday nights are funky.
So I think it could be closer than people think, but I tend to kind of think along the same lines as you.
I've got the Patriots 23.
I've got the Jets 13, kind of like a 10-point game field to me.
But as you mentioned, John, anything can happen if the special teams blows up for the Jets.
And then all of a sudden, you know, some Thursday night funkiness and clunkiness happens.
I would not completely write it off, but I've got Pat's 23, Jets 13.
All right, that rats up this crossover edition of Lockdown Patriots and Lockdown Jets.
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