“It’s the most wonderful time of the year, it’s the hap-happiest season of all”

The New England Patriots enter Sunday already winners of the AFC East but they are still looking to clinch a bye in the first round of the playoffs, and with a win Sunday against the Jets they will achieve that. While many will think facing the Jets will be some sort of cake walk, those who remember the last time these two teams met will know that you never know what you will get out of Rex Ryan and his team.

The New York Jets have been a lost team all year with no consistently on either side of the football, their quarterback Geno Smith has been benched in favor of veteran Michael Vick but within weeks we saw the return of Smith as starting QB. For as bad as Smith has been this season, when he faced the Patriots in Week 7 he threw for 226 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. Even more so the running game of the Jets performed above average as well totaling 218 total rushing yards.

Taking a look into this week’s matchup with the Jets there are three things if you’re a Patriots fan. The first is obviously stopping the run, as I mentioned earlier in their earlier meeting this season the Jets ran the ball for a total of 218 yards. Chris Ivory lead all backs with 21 carries and 107 yards, while Chris Johnson carried the rock 13 times for 61 yards. For all things considered the Jets had a pretty smart game plan of keeping the ball out of Tom Brady’s hand for the majority of the game, the Jets were able to hold on to the ball for 40:54 minutes of game time while the Patriots had just over 19 minutes time of possession.

In order to defend against the run the Patriots will need to keep an eye out for Ivory and Johnson who will no doubt look to mimic their performance from their last meeting. Look for the Jets to pound the ball against the Vince Wilfork and the Patriots defense in attempt to keep Tom Brady off the field once again. Also don’t be surprised to see Percy Harvin get a few carries Sunday, the former Seahawk was not with the Jets when these two teams first met in October and while his production has been limited the Patriots still need to keep an eye on him especially if the Jets decide to have him run the ball a few times.

Another thing the Patriots need to do is get good pass protection for Tom Brady and give him enough time to throw the ball. With Julian Edelman ruled out of Sunday’s game Brady will have to look elsewhere, possible targets include Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, and Brian Tyms. In order for Brady to get the ball out the Patriots offensive line needs to step up and give him as much time as possible against this Jets defense. They are ranked 5th in the NFL in terms of total defense, only giving up 4617 yards this season which is 5th best in the NFL. What’s even more impressive is their performance defending the run, the Jets defense ranks 4th in the NFL against the run only allowing 1225 yards against teams running the ball. So for Shane Vereen and Jonas Gray Sunday will be no walk in the park, they are going to have to fight for every last bit of yardage against this Jets defense.

The final thing to watch for is something that can’t be measured through stats or seen through video study, and its Rex Ryan’s gameplan in what in all likelihood will be his last game coaching against the Patriots. We all remember when Ryan first became the Jets head coach in 2009 and he said Bill Belichick and the Patriots three Super Bowl rings would not intimidate him. So with this being the likely final matchup between the two don’t be surprised if Ryan throws everything and the kitchen sink at the Patriots. While Rex Ryan and the Jets are only 4-8 against Bill Belichick and the Patriots (that’s including their shocking 2010 postseason upset), no head coach has defeated the Patriots as many times as the Jets have in the past six seasons. So with all that to consider its not hard to imagine that Rex will without a doubt look to give Belichick and the Patriots a rough go of things on Sunday afternoon.

In the end, Ryan was a formable foe against the Patriots as no other team gave the Patriots more fits in the past six years then the Jets did. But when you have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick on your team, its easy to see how they still managed to defeat the Jets as many times as they did in Ryans tenure. This Sunday the Patriots will be without some of their top stars like Edelman, LeGarrette Blount, and Kyle Arrington so for fans thinking that the Patriots would just walk over the Jets, they may want to think again. Especially if the Jets are able to runt he ball consistently and are able to get to Brady early and often, the Jets suddenly became a much tougher team and may give the Patriots a much tougher time than most expected.

But with a chance to wrap up a first round bye in the playoffs and a chance to clinch he number one seed in the AFC, don’t expect the Patriots to be caught sleepwalking against the Jets. Even though Brady will have two less weapons on offense we all know that the idea of “next man up” will be applied on Sunday. So whether its LaFell, Tyms, or even Tim Wright, you know that Brady won’t suffer just because he doesn’t have Edelman or Blount in the backfield.

The Dirt Sheet

While many may think that the Patriots should steamroll over the Jets, I’m a bit more cautious about facing Gang Green. As I mentioned earlier, the Jets defense isn’t horrible and are actually one of the best in the NFL, so being concerned about Tom Brady’s performance against the Jets is a legitimated one. Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson are just two of the Jets defensive linemen that could spell problems for Tom Brady if they are able to get past the Patriots offensive linemen and get to TB12. In the end I believe Brady and Belichick continue their dominance this season and get themselves a first round bye in the playoffs by defeating the Jets in a close one. It was a fun 5-year battle facing Rex Ryan but I believe that not even Ryan can lead the Jets to defeat the Patriots in his final game against them. Final Prediction: Patriots 24 Jets 10.

Make sure to stay tuned to the CC Podcast coming January 2015