Poet Oscar Wilde once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”
After 14 seasons of missing the playoffs, the Jets (2-7) hope they can eventually replicate the Patriots‘ turnaround.
Last season, New England finished 4-13 and in last place in the AFC East. A year later, the Patriots are entering Thursday’s game against the Jets with an 8-2 record and are tied for the top spot in the AFC.
Now, the Jets will look to get a win against a Patriots team that has won its last seven games.
“You can really tell how [Mike] Vrabel has his fingerprints on how this team operates,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “He did a hell of a job from the offseason, going to get these big-time players, that fits what he’s trying to do.
“You could tell that Josh McDaniels has done a really good job with this quarterback [Drake Maye]. Again, big, physical, athletic, can make all the throws, and everything revolves around how he operates and what he does. And when it comes to their defense, very sound, very sound, and then they have some high-level guys at the special teams spot. So, this is going to be a fight. It’s going to be a fight, but we welcome the fight, we welcome it.”
The good news is the Jets, following a 0-7 start, have won their past two games against the Bengals and Browns. However, their offense reverted to their previous struggling form during the Jets 27-20 win against Cleveland.
Justin Fields was ineffective against the Browns, completing 6 of 11 passes for 54 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Only two of his completions were past the line of scrimmage, and Breece Hall was responsible for 42 of those yards on his touchdown on a halfback screen during the fourth quarter.
Unlike the win against Cincinnati, Fields was indecisive and hesitant to throw the ball downfield. He has been criticized for his poor play often this season.
In eight games, Fields has thrown for 1,143 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception. The Jets’ offense as a whole has also been horrific this season. They are 28th in yards (285.6) and 25th in points per game (21.7). Gang Green is also dead last in passing yards (143.8).
Glenn has been mum about who his starting quarterback will be for the last three weeks. Fields was benched during the Jets’ Week 7 loss against the Panthers, but continued to start despite being lambasted by owner Woody Johnson at the NFL Fall Meetings.
Fields will likely start because it’s a short week against New England. However, he could be on a short leash like he was against the Panthers. Following Thursday’s game, the Jets will have 10 days before their Week 12 matchup against the Ravens.
Glenn has continued to be combative with the media and said they shouldn’t ask him questions about the quarterback position.
“Please don’t ask me anything about the quarterback because I’m not going to tell you,” Glenn said on Monday. “I don’t want to waste my time when it comes to that when it comes to who’s starting.”
However, Glenn did praise Fields for throwing the ball down the field when he threw his first interception of the season to Browns safety Ronnie Hickman.
“There’s some things that we got to clean up there, but there’s also some good things that he did,” Glenn said. “I was happy that he tried to force the ball, get the ball down the field in that situation.
“I thought Cleveland did a hell of a job in their coverage.”
In addition to Glenn not wanting to discuss the Jets quarterback situation, he declined to discuss wide receiver Garrett Wilson’s injury status. He will be out after not practicing this week due to reaggravating a knee injury he suffered against the Broncos last month. Wilson is expected to be out three to four weeks, according to ESPN.
Initially, Wilson missed two games because of the injury, but returned against the Browns before exiting the game after 19 snaps last Sunday.
The Jets will be facing a Patriots team led by quarterback Drake Maye, who’s 10th in the league in offense and eighth in points per game. Maye has been playing at an MVP level after passing for 2,555 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 10 games.
Gang Green’s secondary will be shorthanded after cornerback Azareye’h Thomas will be out due to a concussion. Thomas became the Jets starting cornerback opposite Brandon Stephens after the Jets traded Sauce Gardner to the Colts last week. Safety Andre Cisco (pectoral tear) is also out for the season.
“Night game here, will give our fans something to cheer for,” Maye said. “In division opponent, obviously, some bad blood between the Patriots and the Jets.
“A lot of history and it should be fun and exciting.”
