After a weird Thursday Night Football game against the New York Giants, the Patriots got some rest this weekend. Now, they are back to work preparing for the New York Jets. As always, time-off in the NFL is very limited. New England desperately needed it after multiple injuries. Let’s get to know the Jets and what to expect come Monday night.
This Monday Night matchup has changed quite a bit. With the Jets shockingly beating the Cowboys, this isn’t looking like an easy matchup for the Pats anymore. Sam Darnold is back under center. He certainly woke-up a sleeping Jets offense. New England’s defense cannot take this Jets team lightly. The last time they met, the game wasn’t even close. Robby Anderson was shut down in the week 3 meeting of these two teams. Since then, Anderson has six receptions for 141 yards and has become a serious deep threat for the Jets offense.
Not many things that have gone right this season for the Jets, but one bright spot has been their defense. With a strong defensive line featuring Leonard Williams, Quinnen Williams, Steve McLendon, and Henry Anderson coming off the edge and up the middle, they have caused problems for their opponents. The Jets linebacker core is also strong as C.J. Mosley has been the leader of the group so far. Their strongest part of the defense is the backend. Jamal Adams and Darryl Roberts have kept teams from hitting big plays downfield for the most part and tackle extremely well. Adams is reliable and will continue to be the Jets’ backbone on defense as he frustrated the Cowboys.
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Don’t worry, I didn’t forget Le’veon Bell. He is very dangerous on the ground and catching the ball downfield. While Bell may have sat out all of 2018 because of a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he is still considered one of the best running backs in the NFL. He continues to show his speed after taking a year off. So far in 2019, Bell has rushed for 256 yards and has tallied 28 receptions for 169 yards. Bell is the ex-factor for the Jets each game and the Patriots will be watching to see where he goes every snap. For the Patriots, the game plan should be to stop Bell and force Darnold to beat them downfield with his arm.
Be sure to watch Monday Night at 8:20pm on ESPN!
–Robert Marcello is a Staff Writer for Full Press Coverage and covers the New England Patriots. Follow him on Twitter @RobertMarcello5
