As the final week approaches in the NFL season, the Jets will say goodbye to a season to forget, and Adam Gase will be fired as their head coach concluding today's division rivalry matchup with Cam Newton and the eliminated Patriots. There is no playoff implications here in this game, and will serve nothing more than to have bragging rights against the other team. The Jets have not won up in Foxboro since the valiant win back in the 2010 playoffs when they won there 28-21. Obviously, times were much different 11 years ago for the Jets and it will be a game Jets fans will always remember. Today is an opportunity to finally take down the Patriots, who are a much weaker side than they have been in the past decade.
The Jets are coming off two straight wins, and QB Sam Darnold and the offense has been finding opportunities to thrive in both of these wins against two playoff contenders (Rams and Browns). The Jets have also secured the number two pick in next year's draft as they cannot beat out the Jaguars now for the number one pick, but cannot fall to the number three pick because the Texans and Bengals both already have 4 wins along with the Eagles and Falcons. The Jets have to continue playing with a purpose as they have been and keep putting the pieces together to finish out games. They have shown what they are capable of these past two weeks and I can finally say that they have been exciting and entertaining to watch while cheering for my favorite team.
There have been some roster updates and injuries to the Jets over the past week that will cause a lineup change for today as well. RB Frank Gore was placed on IR due to a lung injury and will not play today, along with RB La'mical Perine, who was placed on the COVID list after testing positive, so he will also be out after just coming back to the lineup last week. Unfortunately, it was a tough end for both of their seasons, and both guys showed lots of grit and hard work despite the losing season.
RB's Ty Johnson and Josh Adams will be the one two backfield punch today, and they have proven effective when playing together this year. Against the Raiders, the two combined for over 200 yards rushing in the game and made a huge impact on offense even despite the loss we'd all want to forget about. The Patriots better not be taking those two lightly. K Sam Ficken was cut following last week's game and Chase McLaughlin will be making his Jets debut today kicking. He was on the Jaguars earlier this year and went 4/5 on FG attempts and was cut and signed by the Jets around a month ago as an option to have available to kick if needed. Lastly, CB Bless Austin is out today with an undisclosed illness, so rookie CB Lamar Jackson will start.
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| Patriots QB Cam Newton has struggled in December for the Patriots |
Defensively, the Patriots are capable, but currently are missing CB Stephon Gillmore after he was placed on IR. Up front, Lawrence Guy and Deatrich Wise Jr are pass rushers and definitely will keep the pressure on Sam Darnold in this matchup. LB Chase Winovich is another big hitter on this defense and is that guy that is all over the field. In the secondary, CB J.C. Jackson has had an awesome year even though Breshad Perrimann embarrassed him last time these teams played. Jonathan Jones will be the other CB and long time veteran S Devin McCourty is a leader on this defense as well. He has been there through many of their Super Bowl wins and has been a staple to this defense for years. Even though they haven't played well, this is no team to take lightly.
As the Jets season rolls to a close, many of us fans will be happy that this is finally an end to a very forgettable season. With lack of discipline and effort, poor coaching and many blown games, this has been quite a hard year of Jets football to watch and has left many fans uncertain of what the future holds. With all bad always comes good, and hopefully, the Jets have something to look forward to next year and the years ahead. A number two pick could have the Jets picking up a legitimate impact player that can be a big piece moving forward.
With as crazy of an NFL season as it has been with COVID being a factor, you truly never know what could happen anymore. People are uncertain and many lives have been impacted. For those that have fought through, we say thank you and to keep fighting. With as crazy as it's been, this might be just the kind of time that the Jets can go up to Foxboro and finally come back with a W, and this might be the best opportunity they'll have to beat the Patriots for a while in Foxboro. I'll take my chances with the red hot Jets to finish out winning three straight games. They will win today by a score of 21-17 and finally get the monkey off their back of not being able to win in Foxboro.
-Miles Chamberlain
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| Today will be Adam Gase's final game as the Jets HC whether a win or loss |
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