INSIDE SLANT
NFL Team Report - New England Patriots
First-round bye is Patriots goal The New England Patriots are 10-5 and have clinched the AFC East. The Patriots must win Sunday to earn a first-round bye. If the Patriots have any chance of going to the Super Bowl, they likely need the bye. With a 3-5 road record this season, the Patriots will only have to play at most one road game to get to the Super Bowl if they have a first-round bye. Their opponent Sunday, the Jets, has played better lately - having almost defeated the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers the past two weeks. The Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold has played well since he returned from injury with six touchdowns and one interception. He has a passer rating above 100. When the Patriots last played the Jets in New York, the veteran Josh McCown (who has mentored Darnold) was the quarterback. The Patriots defense played well that day - holding the Jets to only 13 points. The Patriots struggled at times against receivers Jermaine Kearse and Quincy Enunwa. Trey Flowers might have had his best game of the season that day as he was effective against both the run and pass. Stephon Gilmore will likely take away top Jets receiver Robby Anderson like he did in the first game. The Patriots will need to stop Kearse, who had his second best game of the year against the Patriots, at the end of November. Enunwa (who did not practice Wednesday) is unlikely to play. The Patriots also need to do a good job against Jets tight end Chris Herndon who has played well this season. SERIES HISTORY: 117th regular-season meeting. Patriots lead series, 62-53-1. The rivalry between the Patriots and Jets has always been competitive. In Rex Ryan's first two years with the Patriots, he went 3-2 against the Patriots including a playoff victory in 2010 at Gillette Stadium. Since 2011, the Patriots have dominated with a 12-2 record. The Patriots two losses were in New York in overtime and the Jets have not made the playoffs during that stretch.
The Sports Xchange
Recent Stories
Testing Buffalo Bill Page
Joe Horrigan knows the Buffalo Bills
Steelers positional analysis: Kenny Pickett stands alone in QB room
2/17/2024If the Steelers were concerned about the uncertain future at quarterback when Ben Roethlisberger retired, the outlook at the position might not be any more ...
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t deserve criticism since Super Bowl
Globe StaffUpdated February 17, 2024, 9:38 a.m.Kyle Shanahan has been on the defensive all week following the 49ers’ 25-22 overtime loss to the Chiefs in the Super ...
New Raiders GM expected to be aggressive in search for top QB
February 17, 2024 - 4:19 PMIf Tom Telesco’s past offers clues about his future, expect the Raiders’ new general manager to be aggressive in bringing in a top-level ...
Latest Player Notes
How a Wisconsin legend got his German protégé into Badgers pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Marlon Werthmann put his life on hold for the opportunity in front of him Friday at the McClain Center.Werthmann ...
Why former Wisconsin football running back Braelon Allen didn't run the 40 at pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Braelon Allen’s sweat covered his shirt and dripped off his beard as he approached a group of reporters Friday.The ...
How can UW recruit its best class ever? It starts with these five prospects
By Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch has lofty recruiting goals at Washington. He didn’t waste any ...
Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team
Things certainly look fresh for the 2024 college football season, especially on the Texas campus.There’s a new conference ...
College Football Playoff: Conferences solve their differences (for now) and agree on general framework for 2026 and beyond
The FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed on Friday to continue the College Football Playoff beyond the 2025 season, signing ...
Ball security, leadership key as Aztecs look to identify starting quarterback
San Diego State seemingly auditions a new starting quarterback on an annual basis.In the past 12 years, the Aztecs have opened ...
Results and more: A look at what happened at Penn State football’s Pro Day inside Holuba Hall
Most of those at Penn State’s Pro Day Friday were relatively quiet throughout the afternoon’s workouts, but there was one ...
Defense dominates first two weeks of Oregon State spring practice as Beavers ready for 2-week breather
CORVALLIS – Oregon State hit the break of spring practices Saturday, not exactly the midpoint but a good place to assess ...
Dillon Gabriel to have similar input, autonomy as Bo Nix had in Oregon’s offense
Published Mar. 16, 2024, 6:26 p.m.By James CrepeaEUGENE — Dillon Gabriel will have much of the same autonomy as Bo Nix did ...
Two transfers, one underclassman who impressed in Missouri football's spring game
With that, spring camp’s a wrap.Missouri football held its Black & Gold spring game Saturday in front of a healthy crowd ...