New York Jets Three Biggest Keys to Success vs. New England Patriots

Here are three keys to success for the New York Jets as they prepare for their second meeting with the New England Patriots on Sunday.

New York Jets running back Braelon Allen (0) runs for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Quite a bit has happened since the last time the New York Jets played the New England Patriots last month at MetLife Stadium.

Well, to be fair, most of those things have happened to the Jets.

New York (2-5) has a new head coach, as owner Woody Johnson fired Robert Saleh and elevated Jeff Ulbrich to be the team's interim head coach.

The Jets also have a new wide receiver in Davante Adams, who was acquired last week.

And there's even a small chance that edge rusher Hasson Reddick, who held out up until Monday, could be on the field in some capacity on Sunday.

It's almost like the Patriots (1-6) could be facing a whole new team. Well, the Jets will be too at least in one area.

Drake Maye, the rookie who finished out their game against the Jets in September, is now the starter. The Jets will get a full look at the player the Patriots hope is their future at quarterback on Sunday afternoon at Foxborough.

Here are the Jets’ three keys to success in this game.

Get the Run Going

The New York Jets aren't getting anywhere offensively if they don't get their run game figured out. It's nice to see new play-caller Jeff Downing utilizing Breece Hall in the pass game, but that's only going to get the Jets so far.

Between Hall and rookie Braelon Allen, there is frankly little reason for the Jets to be running the football as poorly as they've been running it.

How bad is it? Going into Sunday's game only the Dallas Cowboys are running the football worse than the Jets. Through seven games New York has 82.4 rushing yards per game and a paltry 3.9 yards per carry.

New York’s offensive line has been relatively healthy up until Sunday, with only Morgan Moses missing multiple games due to an injury. The status of guard Alijah Vera-Tucker is now up in the air.

So is it the scheme? Is it the lineman? Is it the running backs? Or is it committing to the run? Or is it everything?

The Jets need to answer that question now. Sunday gives New York a chance to recapture some mojo, as it rushed for 133 yards against the Patriots in Week 3.

Harass The Rookie

There's really no better way to get to jump start a pass rush than to face a rookie quarterback. Drake Maye hasn't built up the memory bank of reading defenses and processing quick decisions like an experienced quarterback such as Aaron Rodgers. The Jets defense needs to do a much better job of stopping the run, but sacks and quarterback pressures can kill drives.

It's probably not smart to count on Haason Reddick making a significant impact this week, although any reps he gives them will come in a pass-rush only capacity.

Keeping Maye off balance can help the battered Jets secondary, too. The last thing New York wants is Maye hitting a few passes downfield and getting some confidence.

Turnovers

The Jets have two problems — they're giving up too many turnovers and they're not creating enough. New York enters the game with a minus-3 turnover margin.

The New York defense has forced an average of fewer than one turnover per game. This is a unit that features nearly a dozen former first-round picks. Notably, Sauce Gardner, an All-Pro cornerback, doesn't have an interception this season. It doesn't mean he isn't making plays — it just means he isn’t creating turnovers.

Meanwhile the offense bears some of this burden. That unit has nine turnovers and Rodgers threw two interceptions on Sunday against Pittsburgh, one of which was clearly on him.

When the defense isn't creating many turnovers, the offense has to minimize its own mistakes. Lately it’s have been a problem for both units. Against a team like New England, which on paper looks worse than New York, winning that part of the game is vital.