Jets Face new Look Patriots With Darnold on the Shelf

JetNation · November 9, 2020

As difficult as it may be to fathom the 2020 Jets winning a football game, there’s a very slim chance that they pull that off this evening on Monday Night Football when they take on the 2-6 New England Patriots, who may be getting in on the “Tank for Trevor” sweepstakes with their season essentially done. Which individual matchups will be worth watching with an injured Sam Darnold watching from the sidelines once again.

DL John Franklin-Myers vs RG Shaq Mason: Facing off against one of the better interior offensive linemen in the NFL, Franklin-Myers will have his hands full. Franklin-yers has been one of the few bright spots for the Jets on defense this season and will have to get some pressure up the middle if the Jets are hoping to stay in this one.

WR Denzel Mims vs JC Jackson: For the first time this season the Jets have their top three receivers healthy and ready to roll. With that being the case, this means teams may not be able to focus so heavily on Denzel Mims as Breshad Perriman and Jamison Crowder will command more attention than others have since Mims’ return. Jackson will be filling in for an injured Stephon Gilmore and Mims will look to impress in his prime time debut.

LT Mekhi Becton vs OLB Chase Winovich: Becton has been fantastic at left tackle and figures to get some one-on-one battles with Winovich who is one of Bill Belichick’s best pass rushers. It will be up to Becton and company to make sure Joe Flacco has time to read coverages and holding Winovich at bay will be a big part of that.

C Connor McGovern vs DL Deatrich Wise: McGovern is playing on a bum knee and Wise has been a disruptive player for the Patriots on the interior. If McGovern is a half step too slow, Wish could feast on the Jets inconsistent interior offensive line. And while he has shown a bit more mobility than expected, Joe Flacco isn’t a quarterback you can win with if he’s on the move all day.

WR Jamison Crowder vs CB Jonathan Jones: Jones is the Patriots top slot corner and Crowder has been Gang Green’s best receiver when healthy. Even if the Jets look to take some shots deep down the field to Perriman and Mims, a heavy does of Crowder in the intermediate passing game is a must if the Jets want to move the ball with any consistency.

Prediction: Tough to tell if the Patriots are looking to start a tank of their own which could mean the Jets pick up their first win of the season, but we’ll assume that’s not in Bill Belichick’s DNA, meaning a 37-13 Patriots win. If the Pats do look to mail it in and we see starters getting benched, Adam Gase and company might pull out a close one.

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