Monday Night Football this week will feature two teams that have been unable to win much. The Patriots and Jets come in with a combined record of 2-13, at the bottom of a suddenly tough AFC East. Sam Darnold is out of the lineup, and Joe Flacco is coming back in for the Jets.
Adam Gase is still in charge of the team, his head coach status intact. Despite all of the losing this year, there is no indication Gase will be on his way out the door any time soon. A loss here still may not be enough for a leadership change for the grounded Jets.
New England, on the other hand, clearly misses having Tom Brady around. Cam Newton has struggled mightily this season, even missing a game after a positive COVID test.
The Patriots don’t have many receivers, so there are limited guys to toss the ball too. But Newton made it work during his years in Carolina, so there isn’t a real excuse to be made for them in this case.
The spread for MNF favors the struggling Patriots by 9.5 points, and the over/under is set at 41.5.
Pats Looking to Get Back on Track
After making the playoffs every year since Tom Brady’s injury, the Patriots have a difficult road to qualify this time around. New England came away with wins in two of their first three games, and things were quickly looking up. But the defeats have been piling up rather quickly, as they now sit at 2-5.
Julian Edelman is now going to be out for an extended period of time. While his season has been relatively pedestrian, with 21 receptions for 315 yards and no touchdowns, Edelman’s absence will be felt. His ability to catch most any passes thrown to him in the past several seasons has played a big part in winning big games.
Second-year wide receiver N’Keal Harry will miss Monday’s game as well. The Patriots will need Jakobi Meyers and Isaiah Ford to step up as downfield threats.
Jets in Search of First Win
Things for the Jets have been particularly miserable in 2020. The losses have continued to pile up, as they go back and forth between a banged-up Darnold and veteran Flacco. It hasn’t mattered who the quarterback has been, given all the Jets’ issues around the roster.
New York got rid of Le’Veon Bell without getting anything in return. They traded away Jamal Adams in the offseason. Neither one of them wanted to play for Gase, and now they’re helping other teams come away with wins. In their recent game against Kansas City, Bell was the Jets’ highest-paid player on the field while standing on the opposing sideline.
We’ll see what New York can come away with in this game, but don’t expect much. Braxton Berrios has done a nice job, but most other players across the board have been unreliable. Denzel Mims needs to establish himself as a weapon for this team.
Pats Win Big
A double-digit win over the lowly Jets is just what the doctor ordered for New England. The Patriots move to 3-5 on the season and carry the win to a showdown with the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday night.
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