Keys for the Patriots in order to win today

NEW JERSEY- To avoid starting the season (0-3) the Patriots are in a must-win situation down at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey this afternoon. The Patriots (0-2) are on the road taking the Jets (1-1) where they have been successful in recent years winning against New York home and away. For the Pats they are coming off a loss at home against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football 24-17. As far as it goes for the Jets they are coming off a disastrous performance against the Dallas Cowboys where they lost 30-10. Look ahead to this game before the season started new Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers would be facing off against Patriots quarterback Mac Jones but unfortunately, an Achilles injury happened to Rodgers in Week 1 that has him out for the season.

Moving on and talking about the keys to the game for the Patriots. The offense needs to start off to a fast start whether it would be relying on the running game over the pass game today during those rainy/windy conditions. The defense has got off to a strong start and has been the workhorse of the team so far. Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez has looked great in a depleted secondary. With guys like Jack Jones, Jonathan Jones, and Marcus Jones all dealing with injuries, there are guys that need to step up to the plate. Definitely more of the offense than the defense that needs to improve and get the ball rolling scoring points and not trailing in games.

What if the Patriots star 0-3?

There will be a lot of questions surrounding Head Coach Bill Belichick if the team loses today against the Jets. Belichick has never started his Patriots tenure 0-3 and hopefully that will continue to be the case today. If this team were to start with no wins in the first three weeks of the season it’s going to be hard to come back. Look at it this way you start 0-2 in the division then you basically have to split or win the rest of your games to even be mentioned in the playoff race. Yes I understand it’s early to talk playoffs but this organization has been to one playoff game since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay in the past three seasons. I don’t think that owner Robert Kraft would even think about firing Belichick if they lost today’s game.

Game Predictions

I see New England coming out with the win in today’s game against the Jets. New York’s quarterback Zach Wilson is (0-4) in his career against the Patriots and looks for the struggles to continue today. I have the Patriots winning 24-16 in a close game and the weather could play a factor in the offensive production for both teams. Look for offensive coordinator Bill’O Brien to get more of Ezekiel Elliot and Rhamondre Stevenson involved in the offense and put plays together to run the ball.

Also, keep an eye out for wide receiver Demario “Pop” Douglas to see how he has a role with the offense. He fumbled in last week’s game against the Dolphins and then you didn’t see him back on the field since. Seeing Jones is out and usually returns punts, look for Douglas to be returning those and hopefully back on his role in the offense. Kendrick Bourne and Juju Smith-Schuster, need to get going on offense and be contributing catching the ball because yards after the catch are important on the field position. There are many things to keep an eye out for in this game and hopefully, the Patriots come out on top.