Two rookie quarterbacks will be the stars of the show this coming Sunday in East Rutherford, as Mac Jones and the New Englan Patriots face off with Zach Wilson and the New York Jets. Which team do you got? Check out our preview of this game below.
Even though the Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 at home, 17-16, New England fans can still be happy over the performance of rookie quarterback Mac Jones. The former Alabama Crimson Tide star went 29/39 for 281 passing yards and a touchdown without an interception. He was repeatedly hit in the pocket and was sacked once for a loss of 13 yards, but managed to connect to his receivers on multiple occasions despite the pressure. In other words, the Pats’ offensive line will have to do better protecting the rookie. That might not be too much of a problem against the Jets’ problematic defense. New England’s defense will be a bigger threat to New York’s offensive line though. Last Sunday, the Jets allowed Zach Wilson to get sacked a total of six times for a loss of 51 yards.
The Patriots are 6-2 against the spread in their last eight games after recording at least 251 passing yards in a prior contest. The under is also 4-0 in their last four games away from home.
It’s almost a miracle that Zach Wilson survived Week 1 without losing a limb. As mentioned earlier, he got taken to the ground multiple times by the Carolina Panthers’ pass rush in Week 1’s 19-14 road loss. Despite that leaky offensive line in front of him, he was able to throw for 258 yards and two touchdowns with an interception on 20/37 completions. Wide receiver Corey Davis looked like he’s a strong bounce-back player of the year when he caught both of Wilson’s touchdown passes and finishing with 97 receiving yards on five receptions. Defensively, the Jets at least did not allow Carolina to reach 20 points and held the Panthers to only 4/14 on third downs and 1/4 in the red zone. Those are the good things the Jets can build on heading into the date with New England.
The Jets are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as the underdog at home. The over is 5-1 in New York’s last six games against a team with a sub -.500 record.
