After a thrilling, yet heartbreaking, loss to the Cowboys, the Patriots return home this weekend to face their divisional rivals the New York Jets. Having already beaten the Jets in Week 2, the Pats are firm -7 favorites, which comes at a good time as New England is still searching for their first win of the season.
Patriots fans can take advantage of the favorable line as the full launch for online sports betting in Connecticut has begun, leaving Massachusetts residents with just a short drive to get in on the action in the state that lies between the AFC East rivals.
The Jets managed to pull off an overtime win against Tennessee since falling to the Patriots, as rookie quarterback Zach Wilson and his electric arm have experienced the ups and downs that any young signal-caller can be expected to go through.
On the Patriots’ side, their rookie quarterback Mac Jones has thrown six interceptions to Wilson’s six, which were heavily padded by the four he threw to the Patriots, but Jones’ efficiency passing the ball, completing over 70 percent of his passes has been most impressive.
But it might be the Patriots defense that will be most important in getting the Patriots their third win of the season. They have yet to produce the kind of takeaways they got against the Jets again, though last week’s combination of fourth-down stops, that included a forced fumble, were the kind of clutch moment the Pats need more of.
With injuries piling up, and a significant number of impact defenders missing practice this week, New England could be dealing with some complications with their defensive personnel that could open the door to some younger contributors like rookie Ronnie Perkins, who could see the first action of his career after Chase Winovich ended up on Injured Reserve earlier this week.