Patriots Can Expose Jets, Mark Sanchez With Win in Monday Night Matchup

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Dec 3, 2010

Patriots Can Expose Jets, Mark Sanchez With Win in Monday Night Matchup FOXBORO, Mass. — The Jets could find out a lot about themselves this week.

For starters, the Jets are 2-2 this season against teams that currently have winning records, with those wins coming against the Patriots in Week 2 and the Dolphins in Week 3. And they’re 7-0 against teams that don’t have winning records, so that’s got to be a little concerning for a team that has aspirations to make a deep playoff push.

What’s more, the Jets are struggling to beat some of the softer teams on their schedule. Consider the following:

In Week 6, the Jets overcame two fourth-quarter deficits in Denver and won the game with a touchdown with 73 seconds remaining in regulation.

In Week 9, the Jets overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit with two scores in the last three minutes before beating the Lions in overtime.

In Week 10, the Jets gave away a 20-13 fourth-quarter lead in Cleveland before beating the Browns with 16 seconds remaining in overtime.

In Week 11, the Jets blew a 23-7 fourth-quarter lead at home against the Texans, and they scored a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining to win.

Have the Jets been lucky, or are they a mentally tough team that has been able to withstand fourth-quarter adversity? And if it’s the latter, why do they play so poorly through three quarters to put themselves in that position?

If the Jets can beat the Patriots, they’ll erase many of the doubts that come with slipping past subpar teams. But if the Jets fall, their confidence could be shaken, as they wonder when they’ll earn a late-season statement victory.

This was the seventh installment of a 10-day series that will highlight 10 reasons to get excited for the Patriots-Jets matchup next Monday night.

Thursday: Can Tom Brady continue his three-game hot streak?
Saturday: The Patriots’ rookies have keyed the team’s improvements.

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