When: Today at 1 p.m. (Ch. 2,3)
Where: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Line: Patriots by 3.5
What to expect from the Jets: The Jets delivered a great opening week performance last Sunday. The defense dominated, Mark Sanchez looked remarkably poised and confident for a 
rookie, and Rex Ryan had his team prepared to play and believing they could win. But we may have overrated the Texans coming into that game, and the Jets face one of the league’s best today when New England attempts to win for the ninth consecutive time at the Meadowlands. Sanchez will not have an easy time of it against the Patriots. He’ll need help from his offensive line and running game. That means Thomas Jones, who had two big runs last week but was shut down otherwise, will have to find more holes, more often. Interested to see if the Jets’ receiving corps steps up like they did a week ago to compliment Jerricho Cotchery. Expect the defense to blitz Tom Brady at every opportunity. The key matchup: Darrelle Revis going up against Randy Moss. Revis shut down Andre Johnson a week ago. He’s one of the best cornerbacks in the league and today he’ll have his work cut out for him. Shaun Ellis returns today to join a front seven that punished Houston from the start. They’ll need the help today. With Brady, Moss, Wess Welker, Ben Watson, Laurence Maroney, and Fred Taylor, New England possesses some powerful weapons on offense.
What to expect from the Patriots: It took a remarkable finish by New England a week ago to escape with a win over the Bills. Despite showing some rust last week, Tom Brady did what Tom Brady does. He executed two fourth-quarter drives that resulted in the win. The
New England defense is a work in progress, not as strong as they’ve been in the past, but sure to improve. And there’s no better defensive mind than Bill Belichick. You know for sure he’s drawn up one of his patented defensive gameplans. How well his team executes it is the question. New England is loaded on offense and they’ll test the Jets’ defense more than Houston did last week. The Patriots should be better today than they were Monday night on both sides of the ball.
Prediction:The Jets have done a lot of talking leading up to this game. The Patriots have been listening. As good as New York looked last week, you can’t expect that type of success every game, especially with a rookie quarterback and first-year head coach. And, these are the Jets after all, so expect some bumps in the road. Today may be one of them. And as off as the Patriots may have looked at times last week, they still got the job done, and they always bring their “A” game against the Jets. Brady has won all seven of his starts at the Meadowlands. He’s beaten the Jets in 12 of the 14 games he’s started against them. Expect No. 13 to come today. Patriots 27, Jets 20.
