It's been an underwhelming season for the Patriots, and ESPN believes the campaign will end on a sour note.
New England will close out its 2020 season Sunday when it hosts the New York Jets, who will enter Gillette Stadium winners of two straight. The Patriots, meanwhile, are riding a three-game losing streak and were held to 12 points or less in each of those contests.
Cam Newton and Co. narrowly defeated Gang Green back in Week 9 despite the Jets being without their starting quarterback. ESPN believes New York will earn a season series split in Week 17 with Sam Darnold back under center.
"Jets quarterback Sam Darnold -- who hasn't faced the Patriots since the infamous "ghost" game in 2019 -- will get his first career victory over the Patriots in what could be his final game with the Jets," Rich Cimini cast as his bold prediction for Jets-Patriots. "The Jets have been outscored 71-3 in Darnold's two starts against the Patriots (four interceptions)."
Darnold hasn't really been lighting it up since returning from injury, but he's largely played mistake-free football. The third-year pro threw five touchdowns with only one interception over four December games.
The Patriots and Jets are slated to kick off their divisional clash at 1 p.m. ET.
