The 2018 New England Patriots regular season will draw to a close Sunday afternoon when the New York Jets visit Gillette Stadium in Week 17.
Here’s what we’ll be watching for in that AFC East clash:
THE DETAILS
Time: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Location: Gillette Stadium
TV: CBS
THE ODDS
The 10-5 Patriots are 13 1/2-point favorites over the 4-11 Jets, who are playing out the string in another lost season. New York hasn’t won in Foxboro since the 2010 playoffs. The Patriots haven’t lost at home since Week 4 of last season.
THE STAKES
The Patriots, who clinched their 10th consecutive AFC East title last week with a 24-12 win over the Buffalo Bills, can secure a first-round playoff bye with a win Sunday. If they lose, their path to a bye gets much more complicated, as they’d need the Houston Texans to lose and the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans to lose or tie.
New England also still has an outside chance of earning the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. To land the top spot, they need to win and have the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers both lose.
The Jets have been eliminated from playoff contention.
INJURY REPORT
Patriots tight end Jacob Hollister has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. Hollister has played in just eight games in what’s been a disappointing sophomore season for him.
Four Patriots players are listed as questionable: wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (knee), tight end Dwayne Allen (knee), offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle (illness) and special teamer Brandon King (knee).
Patterson was a limited participant in all three practices this week after leaving last Sunday’s game with a knee injury. Allen and Waddle both were added to the injury report Friday.
The Jets have ruled out wide receivers Quincy Enunwa and Jermaine Kearse, linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis and starting cornerback Morris Claiborne.
The loss of Enunwa and Kearse leaves New York very thin at wideout behind No. 1 receiver Robby Anderson. Claiborne had started every game for the Jets this season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tom Brady, Patriots quarterback
The Patriots didn’t need a great Brady performance to defeat the Bills last weekend, and that likely will be the case again in this game. But it’s hard to imagine New England advancing deep in the playoffs if Brady continues to struggle the way he has over the last few weeks.
The 41-year-old QB, who certainly appears to be dealing with an injury of some sort, had one of the worst statistical performances of his career against the Bills, completing 13 of 24 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. He was pulled for backup Brian Hoyer with more than six minutes remaining.
A return to form against the Jets would provide a confidence boost heading into the playoffs.
Sam Darnold, Jets quarterback
One week after facing one of the AFC East’s first-round rookie QBs in Josh Allen, they’ll see the other for the first time on Sunday. This season has been a mixed bag for Darnold, who enters tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with 15, but the USC product has shown great progress of late, throwing six touchdowns with just one interception since returning from injury in Week 14.
Darnold nearly led the Jets to upset victories over the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers in the last two weeks, and the Packers game — in which New York blew a 15-point fourth quarter lead before losing 44-38 in overtime — was his best as a pro. He completed 24 of 35 passes for a career-high 341 yards and three touchdowns with no picks.
Sony Michel, Patriots running back
Michel needs 119 rushing yards to become the first Patriots rookie running back since Robert Edwards in 1998 to reach the 1,000-yard mark. Martin, John Stephens and Curtis Martin are the only rookies in Patriots history to hit that milestone.
One-hundred nineteen yards is no walk in the park, but it’s certainly doable for Michel, especially if New England continues the run-heavy approach it utilized against Buffalo. The first-round draft pick had the most productive game of his young career in the first Pats-Jets meeting, carrying 21 times for 133 yards and a touchdown.
Chris Herndon, Jets tight end
Like his quarterback, Herndon also is coming off a career game, catching six passes on seven targets for 82 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Green Bay. That performance earned the fourth-round rookie the highest Pro Football Focus game grade of any offensive player in Week 16.
Herndon has played a major role in the Jets’ offense over the second half of the season and should see even more targets this week with Enunwa and Kearse both sidelined.
Ryan Allen, Patriots punter
Specialists don’t typically crack this list, but Allen did a great job in Week 12 of limiting Jets return man Andre Roberts, holding the first-time Pro Bowler to 1 total punt return yard.
Roberts, whom Matthew Slater called the best returner the Patriots have faced in at least five years, leads the NFL in both punt return average and kick return average and could be an X-factor as the Jets look for any sort of edge against their heavily favored division rivals.
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