Patriots Must Capitalize On This Advantage In Matchup With Jets

The New England Patriots’ biggest strength aligns with the New York Jets’ biggest weakness entering the Week 3 game on Thursday night.

Jerod Mayo’s team heavily relied on the ground game in each of its two competitive contests. The Patriots ran for 170 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 and 185 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, the majority of which came in the second half.

New England sits third in rushing attempts this season, and that’s helped the Patriots rank fourth in rushing yards.

On the opposite sideline, the Jets have allowed the 24th-most rushing yards, 24th-most rushing touchdowns and are below average in yards per rush allowed (4.7).

During the latest episode of NESN’s “Foxboro Rush” podcast, NESN.com’s Sean McGuire joined George Balekji and previewed the AFC East rivalry game. Both McGuire and Balekji pointed to the ground game as New England’s biggest advantage.

“Without a doubt the Patriots’ biggest strength, if you go head-to-head, it’s got to be in the run game,” McGuire said, pointing out how the Jets will be without edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II and potentially missing linebacker C.J. Mosley.

“If the Patriots are going to win, they have to win exactly like they did in Week 1, and were competitive in Week 2,” McGuire said.

Balekji added: “That’s what jumped out to me in both of their (Jets) games so far, was how they were getting dominated at the line of scrimmage. … There’s something off with them up front, and that’s where the Patriots have to take advantage.”

The Patriots will be without two starters: left tackle Vederian Lowe and left guard Sidy Sow, who will miss a third consecutive game.

For more ahead of the Patriots-Jets matchup, as well as the Ja’Whaun Bentley fallout, you can listen to “Foxboro Rush” on YouTube and Spotify.