What experts are predicting for Sunday’s Patriots-Jets game
"Undefeated at home and the Jets are going to come into Gillette and take the regular-season finale? Right."
If the New England Patriots are able to handle the New York Jets Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium — and they will — they’ll officially secure the No. 2 seed in the AFC’s playoff picture and a first-round bye.
But based on how the cards have fallen for this team recently, it probably makes more sense to expect them to nab the top seed.
Despite back-to-back losses to the Dolphins and Steelers that figured to handicap their playoff positioning, the Chiefs, Texans, and Chargers have done everything in their powers to provide the Patriots the easiest path to the Super Bowl in Atlanta.
So, Sunday’s slate of games should not only include a Patriots victory, but also a combination of the following:
The Chiefs somehow lose to the lowly Oakland (rest in peace) Raiders at home.
The Broncos handle the San Diego (I don’t care) Chargers at Mile High.
There also are scenarios where the Pats can fall to the third or fourth seed as well, but fantasies are better left to the side.
This week’s picks:
: Jets (+13.5). “The Patriots won’t mess around and lose a bye, but don’t be surprised if Sam Darnold does his best to make an end-of-year impression on Bill Belichick and the New England sideline.”
Benjamin Hoffman, New York Times: Jets (+13.5). “A first-round bye can be secured simply with a win over the Jets. That should be relatively easy at home, but New York is strong enough in its secondary, and quarterback Sam Darnold has progressed enough in recent weeks, to make the enormous point spread a bit insulting.”
Greg Cote, Miami Herald: Patriots 30, Jets 13. “Tom Brady says he’ll play at least two more years. (Who’ll retire first? Ryan Tannehill, or the G.O.A.T.?) Patriots aren’t coasting here. A win secures No. 2 seed and first-round bye. Did I mention that New England is 7-0 at home this year and that Jets have L-O-S-T seven straight in Foxborough?”
Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Patriots 33, Jets 16. “The Patriots should have no problem finishing the regular season with a perfect record at home (8-0). And they still have a shot at a first-round bye. But they just haven’t looked very crisp the past five games.”
Michael Hurley, CBS Boston: Patriots 30, Jets 13. “The Patriots may not be as great as we’re used to them being. But they’re plenty good enough to take care of this business.”
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: Patriots 33, Jets 16. “The Patriots can lock up the second seed with a victory. The Jets are playing out the string, which is a big edge for the Pats. Sam Darnold has played well for the Jets lately, but I think he will run into problems here. The Patriots will win this game and earn the bye.”
MMQB staff: All Pats.
Jimmy Kempski, Philly Voice: “With a win, the Patri*ts will clinch a 2 seed. If they win and the Chiefs and Chargers both lose, they’ll clinch the 1 seed. The Patri*ts are in a position to clinch that 2 seed because of the Eagles’ win over the Texans last Sunday, after which the Patri*ts tweeted the following about Nick Foles.
We never thought we’d say this in 2018, but…
Thanks Nick Foles! #StNick pic.twitter.com/KFVWYzDIOE
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 23, 2018
Obviously, that picture is not from Super Bowl LII, a game in which T*m Brady ran straight to the locker room like a baby after he lost, and did not congratulate Foles until like six months later.
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: Patriots 33, Jets 17. “The Jets look like they have found their triplets of the future in Sam Darnold, Robby Anderson and Elijah McGuire, and they have potential for another hot, fast offensive start in this game. But the Patriots won’t be interested in turning this game into a shootout; they will lean on the running and ball-control passing games to take pressure off both Tom Brady and the defense. The real December version of New England showed up last week and won’t go anywhere this week.”
Todd Haislop, Sporting News: Patriots 30, Jets 10. “Bad news for the Jets: The Patriots can still get the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, and they certainly will be motivated to do so even though the Chiefs, the current No. 1, can clinch with a win over the lowly Raiders. New England will do to New York this week what it did to Buffalo last week.”
SB Nation staff: All New England.
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: Patriots 33, Jets 17. “An unlikely Super Bowl march continues with an easy win against a Jets team that can’t wait for Tom Brady to finally go away.”
Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk: Patriots 30, Jets 20. “The Patriots just need to win to earn a bye week, and they’ll do just that.”
MassLive staff: All Patriots (-13.5). “This is the second straight week that the Patriots are favored by just shy of two touchdowns against an AFC East opponent at home. Last week’s game against the Bills was choppy in nature and the Patriots still won. The only reason they didn’t cover was a late garbage-time touchdown. In terms of a pick ’em, there shouldn’t be much trouble with this pick.”
FiveThirtyEight: Patriots (-14.5) with an 89 percent chance of winning.
Elliot Harrison, NFL.com: Patriots 35, Jets 27. “How the Jets respond from last week’s crushing loss to the Packers could have a major impact on much of the AFC playoff field. If New York upsets Bill Belichick and friends and Houston takes care of Jacksonville, New England will drop to the third seed or possibly even the fourth seed, if Baltimore beats Cleveland. This means the Patriots would miss out on a bye and instead would host a wild-card game. That’s huge for a number of reasons, including that the fifth seed will either be the Chiefs or the Chargers. What a significant swing that’d be. Yep, all that has to happen is for Sam Darnold to get hot, like he was in the first three quarters against Green Bay. Also at issue: Gang Green’s 26th-ranked run defense. In other words, the Jets are better off making Tom Brady beat them. New England’s ground game stacked up nearly three bills last week, and by and large, Todd Bowles’ defense has stunk in this area. Patriots win.”
It says here: Patriots 26, Jets 17. Undefeated at home and the Jets are going to come into Gillette and take the regular-season finale? Right.
