It is win or go home for the New York Jets (8-7) on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals (10-5).  If the Jets win then they will make the playoffs, but if they lose they are out.  The Bengals have already clinched their playoff spot, so they may be taking it easy on Sunday and resting some key players.  For the Jets sake, hopefully the Bengals do that.  Either way, the Jets need a solid day from their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.  Sanchez has had a lot of ups and downs this season, and if he has one of his down games Sunday then the Jets can kiss their playoff chances goodbye.  All they need Sanchez to do is take care of the ball and manage the game, and it will give the Jets a good chance at winning.  Thomas Jones can handle a lot of the offensive load at running back, but the Bengals do hold opponents to 88 rushing yards per contest so they may need Sanchez to make some plays at quarterback.  He has 20 interceptions this season though, so he needs to be careful.

On defense the Jets need to stay focused no matter who is on the field for the Bengals.  The Bengals may or may not rest their starters, but if they have a lead in the second half I would expect at least some of them to get some rest.  The Jets defense has been very strong all season, but they are going up against some talented offensive players.  Cedric Benson has rushed for 1,251 yards this season and Chad Ochocino is a big threat in the passing game, so if the Jets can contain those two they will most likely win the game.  The Jets need to treat this game like a playoff game, because that is basically what it is for them:  win or go home.  If they play with the determination they should be in a game like this, they should win.

PREDICTION:  New York Jets 27, Cincinnati Bengals 17

The New York Jets (7-6) are hosting the Atlanta Falcons this week and they are hoping that Matt Ryan and Michael Turner will still be out.  Ryan and Turner are the Falcons biggest offensive weapons but are both listed as questionable.  If they can’t go the Jets will have a much easier time slowing down the Falcons offense.  Chris Redman will be the starter if Ryan can’t go and Jason Snelling will be the running back if Turner can’t go.  Both are downgrades, but the Jets can’t relax.  Redman has made some very nice plays the last two weeks as a starter.  He does make a lot of mistakes though, so the Jets need to take advantage of them and try and get some turnovers.  Snelling shouldn’t be much of a problem as the Jets run-defense has been great lately.

Mark Sanchez is back after missing last week’s game with a knee injury.  The Jets should limit Sanchez and just let Thomas Jones do most of the work for the offense.  Jones has been running the ball great most of the season and had 2 touchdowns last game.  The Falcons give up 118 rushing yards per contest, so Jones should be able to find a lot of success.  Sanchez just needs to take care of the ball and let his running game do its thing.  This game could be much different if Ryan and Turner play, but I like the Jets in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New York Jets 27, Atlanta Falcons 17

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 New York Jets (3-0) are looking to stay undefeated as they head down south to take on the New Orleans Saints (3-0) and their highly powered offense.  The Jets and their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez have done what it takes to win games, getting two close victories the past two weeks.  They will have a big challenge traveling to the Superdome though, as the Saints have yet to trail in a game so far this season.

The Saints offense has looked unstoppable this season, especially in the first two weeks.  Their quarterback Drew Brees threw nine touchdowns in those first two games, but failed to reach the end-zone last week against the Bills.  That didn’t matter though, as the Saints have a dangerous running game to go along with their explosive passing game and they racked up 222 yards on the ground last week.  The Saints defense isn’t bad either, and with the offense getting early leads and controlling the time of possession, they’ve been able to limit teams to and average of only 67 rushing yards per game.

The Jets need to make sure the Saints don’t get out to a big early lead, or they will not have much of a chance.  The Jets defense should be able to prevent that from happening, so I am expecting a close game.  They are limiting teams to only 185 passing yards per game this season, so they should be able to keep Drew Brees from having one of his monster games.  Saints’ RB Pierre Thomas did a fantastic job filling in for the still injured Mike Bell, and will look to build off his huge second half last week where he ran for 126 yards with two touchdowns on 14 carries (9.0 avg).  The Jets should be able to slow Thomas down though, as their defense is one of the best in the league and are limiting teams to only 82 rushing yards per game.

This will be a big challenge for rookie quarterback Sanchez.  Sanchez has not really played like a rookie, but he still doesn’t have the abilities that Drew Brees brings to the table.  He will need a lot of production out of the running back duo of Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, but neither has had that strong of a start this year (Houston and their pathetic run defense doesn’t count).  The Jets really do need to prevent the Saints from building an early lead, or they will be forced to rely on their rookie quarterback too much.  The Jets will put up a strong effort and their defense should limit the Saints offense, but I think the Saints will pull this one out.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Jets 20, Saints 28

With Brett Favre in the fold it’s all systems go for a revival of Jets’ football.  The Jets have improved in a few areas and it will make them a legit playoff contender.  I’m thinking that the Jets will win at least 9 games this season so plunk some cash down on the over and take the money to the bank.