New England Patriots (5-3) at New York Jets (5-3)
Sunday, November 13th, 2011 | 8:20 PM ET
TV: NBC | Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub
While the New England Patriots are only halfway through their 2011 NFL schedule, it's hard to imagine the team ever having a game as critical as their match-up against the Jets in tonight's week ten match-up.
Earlier in the season, the Patriots were able to edge out the Jets at home 30-21. But now, the Patriots have to travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the red hot Jets, who are on a three game winning streak and are now tied with the Patriots at 5-3 atop the AFC East.
And while the Jets are red hot, the Patriots have been quite the opposite the last couple of weeks. The team has lost two straight games and they are in danger of their first three game losing streak since the 2002 season. A loss today would give the Jets sole possession of first place in the AFC East, and would put the Patriots in a very precarious position heading into the later part of the season at 5-4.
Tonight's match-up will show what this Patriots team is made of. If they can bounce back from back to back losses and beat the Jets on enemy turf, many fans will have to re-think their beliefs about this Patriots team.
The Patriots are hurting. Sterling Moore and Jeff Tarpinian will make their respective debuts at safety and middle linebacker. However, if this team can manage to put together a victory, I think we'll finally learn what type of resolve this team has. Ultimately, while logic is telling me to pick against the Patriots, I'm going to say this team pulls out a defining victory, similar to the one the team had against Pittsburgh in week ten of the 2010 season (coming off a difficult loss to the Browns).
Greg's Prediction: Patriots 31 Jets 24