Jets vs. Patriots: Sunday NFL Picks & Predictions in the AFC East

New York Jets at New England Patriots
Sunday, 10/9/11, 4:15 PM EST, TV: CBS
Opening Point Spread: New England -8
Current Betting Line: New England -7.5
Opening Total: 50
Current Total: 50
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

Patriots vs. Dolphins NFL Preview — New England Patriots QB Tom Brady will be going after revenge from last year's playoff loss to the New York Jets

New York has faced New England more than any other team and has won two of the last three meetings, including a 28-21 win as 9.5-point road underdogs in last year’s playoff meeting. The Jets come into this division rivalry losers of two games in a row, which is starting to test the locker room. “No, I think our player policy is to try and keep things in-house,” commented quarterback Mark Sanchez about sniping within the locker room. “We’ve talked about, and those individual improvements and stuff, that happens on a personal level.” The third-year quarterback hasn’t gotten much protection recently, but All-Pro center Nick Mangold is expected to be back after missing two games with a high ankle sprain. New York is 0-2 ATS on the road this season and 13-10 ATS in that situation the last two-plus seasons.

The Jets defense is doing as good as they can without the offense providing much help, liming opponents to just a 26 percent conversion rate on third down. New York head coach Rex Ryan has normally been very good on the road, coming into this game with consecutive losses against Oakland and Baltimore, but is still 15-9 (including the postseason) away from New Jersey.

New England is 7-4 against the New York Jets all-time at Gillette Stadium and 22-14 against them since owner Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. The Patriots are 3-1 on the season and bring in the NFL’s No. 1 offense, averaging 507.5 yards per game, including 384.8 passing yards. The team also has a plus-four turnover differential, which is better than New York’s flat performance in that category. New England is 10-8 ATS at home and the ‘over’ is 13-5 in those contests.

The Patriots have won 18 straight regular season home games and have a 61-12 overall record in such games at Gillette Stadium. Quarterback Tom Brady has been nothing short of spectacular this year, while also throwing for at least two or more touchdowns in 13 straight games. Brady’s 1,553 passing yards through the first four games of the season is the second-best mark in the history of the league, trailing only Kurt Warner’s 1,557. Offensively, the team felt it was important to start establishing a run game last week, producing 183 yards on the ground by averaging 6.1 yards a carry.