Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots’ first division rematch of the season did not go according to plan. Two weeks after their loss to the Buffalo Bills, they will get another crack at going 2-0 against one of their AFC East rivals: the team of head coach Mike Vrabel will travel to New York to take on a Jets team that once again finds itself far removed from the top of the standings.
Unsurprisingly, the Patriots are heavy favorites entering Week 17 and in prime position to sweep the Jets. What can be expected from Gang Green, though? Let’s find out.
The Jets have only won three games so far this season, and their stats look the part. They have been a bad team for virtually the entire year, and unsurprisingly in the bottom third of the NFL in most important categories.
Record: 3-12 (4th AFC East/13th AFC)
Scoring differential: -144 (30th)
Turnover differential: -18 (32nd)
Offense: 18.8 points/game (28th), 270.1 yards/game (29th), 22 giveaways (t-26th), -0.118 EPA/play (29th), -0.119 EPA/dropback (30th), -0.116 EPA/run (27th)
Defense: 28.4 points/game (30th), 342.3 yards/game (21st), 4 takeaways (32nd), 0.110 EPA/play (28th), 0.219 EPA/dropback (29th), -0.036 EPA/run (24th)
What stands out right away is that the Jets have been putrid in the turnover department this year. They are dead-last in turnover differential, in large part because of them having taken the ball away only four times all year and are the only team in football without an interception so far.
The rest of their stats is not a lot better. Not mentioned above, for example, are other last-place rankings in passing yards (2,189) and net yards per pass attempt (4.4).
That said, not all is quite as bad as it seems. The Jets are also ranked in the top 10 in rushing yards (1,863; 9th) and rushing yards per attempt (4.6; 8th). That said, those numbers come with the caveat of opposing defenses focusing on the pass quite a bit because of game scripts: a team that is losing — and the Jets know a thing or two about that — is less likely to see stacked boxes meant to stop the time-consuming run game.
The Jets’ season has been a rough one, even though the team showed some flashes of life after starting 0-7. However, those have been few and far between as the 16-week rundown shows:
Week 1: 34-32 loss vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1)
Week 2: 30-10 loss vs. Buffalo Bills (0-2)
Week 3: 29-27 loss at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3)
Week 4: 27-21 loss at Miami Dolphins (0-4)
Week 5: 37-22 loss vs. Dallas Cowboys (0-5)
Week 6: 13-11 loss vs. Denver Broncos (0-6)
Week 7: 13-6 loss vs. Carolina Panthers (0-7)
Week 8: 39-38 win at Cincinnati Bengals (1-7)
Week 9: Bye
Week 10: 27-20 win vs. Cleveland Browns (2-7)
Week 11: 27-14 loss at New England Patriots (2-8)
Week 12: 23-10 loss at Baltimore Ravens (2-9)
Week 13: 27-24 win vs. Atlanta Falcons...
