The Jets won with defense yesterday against the Panthers.  Safeties Eric Smith (8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed) and Jim Leonhard (8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) led the way for the D in this game.  But, it was CB Darrelle Revis who was the biggest impact player of this game for the Jets.  He had 2 tackles, 3 passes defensed and he intercepted 2 passes (1 returned 67 yards for a TD).  Recently benched safety Kerry Rhodes pitched in for the Jets with 2 interceptions yesterday.  The Panthers finished up with only 176 total yards (75 rushing, 101 passing) in this game.

The offense was very conservative for the Jets in yesterday’s game.  QB Mark Sanchez managed the game well completing 13 of 17 passes for 154 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 27 yards (9.0 avg) in this game.  Thomas Jones led the way in the running game with 25 carries for 75 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 11 yards (3.7 ypc) in this game.  Shonn Greene pitched in with 36 yards on 10 carries (3.6 ypc) but he lost a fumble.  TE Dustin Keller led the way in the passing game with 4 grabs for 68 yards (17.0 avg) but he also lost a fumble.  Braylon Edwards pitched in with 3 catches for 40 yards (13.3 avg) in this game.  The Jets finished up with 283 total yards on offense (139 rushing, 144 passing) yesterday.  The Jets are now 5-6 on the year.

The Panthers have been up and down alternating wins and loss the last six weeks.  If that trend holds then they are due to win this week.  The Jets have been awful the last three weeks losing all three games by a combined score of 85-61.  The Panthers are going to come out running the ball so the Jets better tighten their chin straps.  DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will be in a battle the whole game with the front seven of the Jets and ILBs David Harris and Bart Scott in particular.  The Jets are allowing 111.5 yards rushing per game (4.0 ypc) so far this season and the Panthers are averaging 159.1 yards rushing and 4.7 ypc this season so the Panthers should have some success on the ground on Sunday.  The Panthers probably will have QB Jake Delhomme in game manager mode on Sunday but they will likely still go up top a couple of times to Steve Smith who will probably be covered most of the game by Jets’ lock-down corner Darrelle Revis. 

QB Mark Sanchez has looked like a deer in headlights at times this season so the Jets will try to put him in conditions that he might succeed in this week.  That could mean a few more throws on first down than usual with Jerricho Cotchery being the most likely target.  Dustin Keller will be the guy that Sanchez looks for if he’s under duress from DE Julius Peppers and the rest of the Panthers’ D.  But the Jets have averaged 163.5 yards rushing per game (4.7 ypc) so they will take aim at a Panthers’ D that is allowing 130.7 yards rushing per game and 4.7 ypc.  That means that Thomas Jones will be the workhorse for the Jets on Sunday and that’s a good thing for the Jets’ O.

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 17, JETS 13

31-year old RB Thomas Jones is seeing his workload increase since the injury to Leon Washington and he is still playing at a high level.  Jones has played in 10 games this season for the Jets and he has carried the ball 191 times for 884 yards (4.6 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He has also caught 6 passes for 49 yards (8.2 avg) this season.  The amazing thing about Jones’ continued production is that he is often facing defenses with extra guys in the box because Mark Sanchez is not scaring anyone with his right arm.  Jones has now played in 42 games in his three years with the Jets and he has carried the ball 791 times for 3,315 yards (4.2 ypc) with 22 TD runs.  He has also caught 70 passes for 473 yards (6.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs with the Jets.  The Jets need Jones to keep up the good work the rest of the season.

Mark Sanchez had an awful game for the New York Jets (4-6) and the New England Patriots (7-3) easily beat them.  Sanchez had 4 interceptions and only completed 8/21 passes for 136 yards.  The Patriots jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter, so the rookie quarterback was trying to force passes all game.  The Jets were able to build some momentum when they blocked a punt and Brad Smith recovered it for a touchdown.  The Jets got another touchdown in the second half to bring them within 10, but the Patriots held them the rest of the game and tacked another touchdown themselves to get the easy win.

The Jets defense did not have too many answers for the Tom Brady-Wes Welker connection.  Brady had 310 yards and touchdown on 28/41 passes, with Welker accounting for 15 of those catches and 192 yards.  The Patriots running game was also very effective, with Laurence Maroney rushing 22 times for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Jets were facing a different Patriots team then the one they beat in week 2, as Tom Brady is back in form and the Patriots are one of the elite NFL teams once again.  No matter how good the Patriots may be, Sanchez cannot throw 4 interceptions in a game.

The New York Jets (4-5) are heading to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots (6-3).  It is a different Patriots team than the one they beat 16-9 in week two, as Tom Brady has gotten back into his groove and the Patriots have been putting up a lot more points lately.  The Jets are coming off a disappointing loss to the Jaguars and with the way they have been playing lately I don’t think they have a chance this week against the Patriots.  The Patriots have been averaging nearly 39 points per game in their last four and the Jets have not faced an offense like the Patriots since they lost to the Saints 24-10 in week 4.

Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense are going to need to put some points up if they want to keep up with Brady and the Pats.  Sanchez cannot throw the ball away like he did last week, when the Jags picked him twice.  If he turns the ball over against the Pats, they will definitely take advantage and the Jets will be stacking the odds against themselves.  I expect them to try and run the ball a ton against this Pats team that gives up 110 rushing yards per game.  If they can get a huge day on the ground and keep the time of possession in their favor, they will give themselves a real chance of winning.  Thomas Jones will need to have a big day.  I think the Patriots have too much for the Jets to handle though and I’m picking the Patriots in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New England Patriots 31, New York Jets 20

The Jets could be without starting strong safety Jim Leonhard for a while due to surgery he has had to repair a thumb that he fractured against the Jags last Sunday.  Leonhard has played in 9 games this season for the Jets and he has 43 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 4 passes defensed and he has 1 interception.  The Jets will also miss Leonhard on special teams as he has been the punt returner.  Leonhard has returned 21 punts for 173 yards (8.2 avg) this year for the Jets.  Eric Smith will replace Leonhard on defense.  He has played in 9 games for the Jets this season and he has 27 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Smith should be able to do a decent job at safety while Leonhard is healing.

This was a heartbreaker for the Jets as Jaguars’ kicker Josh Scobee nailed a 21-yard field goal as time expired to give the Jets a loss.  Mark Sanchez had another sub par game today as he completed 16 of 30 passes for 212 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  Thomas Jones led the way on the ground for the Jets today with 77 yards on 21 carries (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Shonn Greene pitched in with 26 yards on 7 carries (3.7 ypc) in this game.  Braylon Edwards led the way in the passing game for the Jets today with 79 yards on 3 grabs (26.3 avg) but he lost a fumble.  Jerricho Cotchery had a solid game for the Jets today with 6 catches for 68 yards (11.3 avg) with a TD grab.  TE Dustin Keller pitched in with 6 catches for 58 yards (9.7 avg) against the Jags.  The Jets finished up with 322 total yards in this game (110 rushing, 212 passing).

Linebacker David Harris led a sub par Jets’ defensive effort with 9 tackles and 1 QB hit.  Safety Jim Leonhard also had a solid game with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and a QB hit.  The Jaguars finished up with 347 total yards on offense (139 rushing, 208 passing) today.  This loss drops the Jets to 4-5 on the year.

The Jaguars have been outscored 71-13 in their last two road games so Coach Del Rio hopefully did something different with the team this week to prepare for the game in New Jersey against the Jets.  The Jaguars will probably tighten up the chinstraps and come out trying to run the ball against the Jets who are allowing 108.1 yards rushing and 4.0 yards per carry this season.  LBs Bart Scott and David Harris will be tough for Drew to get yards on inside so look for the Jags to run a lot of sweeps on Sunday.  The Jaguars will probably try to throw the side opposite of Darrelle Revis which means that Torry Holt or rookie Mike Thomas could have a big game against the Jets with Mike Sims-Walker likely having a tough afternoon dealing with Revis.

The Jets will likely come out running the ball with Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene against a Jags’ D that is allowing 119.8 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The Jets hope that they get their running game going which is averaging 177.6 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry so that they can protect Mark Sanchez.  Jerricho Cotchery, Braylon Edwards and Dustin Keller could make some big catches against a Jags’ D that is allowing 242.3 yards passing per game and QBs have a 100.2 rating against them.  Still, CB Rashean Mathis is a pickoff artist so Sanchez will have to be careful when throwing in his direction.

PREDICTION:  JETS 27, JAGUARS 10

The Jets really have missed WR Jerricho Cotchery since he has been out of action.  He was Mark Sanchez’ favorite receiver and he has struggled without him.  Cotchery has caught 27 passes for 430 yards (15.9 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this season as he is the #1 WR on the Jets.  Braylon Edwards has caught 13 passes for 192 yards (14.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs since coming over from the Browns and he will make a nice WR tandem with Cotchery as they are different types of WRs.  David Clowney will then likely slide into the #3 WR role for the Jets which is where he likely belongs.  Clowney has caught 11 passes for 167 yards (15.2 avg) with a TD so far this season for the Jets.

Inside linebackers David Harris and Bart Scott are the tough guys of the Jets’ D.  Harris has 65 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception so far this season.  The Jets rejected the idea of trading for Broncos’ WR Brandon Marshall when the Broncos wanted Harris and a draft pick.  That was a smart move for the Jets as Harris just thumps running backs racking up a lot of tackles.  Bart Scott came over from the Ravens along with head coach Rob Ryan as a free agent and he has been solid for the Jets.  Scott has made 52 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss and he has 1 sack so far this year.  Harris and Scott is a outstanding duo to have in the middle of the defense and the Jets should keep them together for a long, long time.