New England Patriots vs New York Jets Matchup Preview (1/3/2021): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

The 2-13 Jets travel to Foxboro to take on the 6-9 New England Patriots. For New England, this will mark the first time since 2000 that they have finished a season with a losing record. Additionally, it breaks an 11-year streak of making the postseason, and a loss on Sunday would finish the season on a four-game losing streak. Heading into the offseason, the quarterback position remains the biggest question mark for the Patriots. Will they resign Cam Newton, give Jarrett Stidham a chance, or have they yet to draft Brady’s true replacement? As for the Jets, they enter this game on a two-game winning streak. However, this marks five straight losing seasons and their worst record during that stretch. Much uncertainty clouds the Jets organization heading into the offseason, as Head Coach Adam Gase and top draft pick Sam Darnold’s future within the organization are certainly in question. After losing the rights to the first overall pick to the Jaguars, many are intrigued to see if the Jets will try to continue building around Sam Darnold or if they’ll draft their next quarterback. For odds movement and full matchup history, visit the New England Patriots vs. New York Jets Matchup Page.

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, January 3rd, 2021
Time: 12:00 PM CT
Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
TV Coverage: CBS

Patriots vs Jets Live Stream

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Injuries

New England Patriots: David Andrews (calf) O, Damien Harris (ankle) O, Shaquille Mason (calf) O, Ja’Whaun Bentley (shoulder) Q, Justin Bethel (neck) Q, Adam Butler (shoulder) Q, Shilique Calhoun (knee) Q, Byron Cowart (back) Q, Jermaine Eluemunor (ankle) Q, Nick Folk (back) Q, Lawrence Guy (shoulder) Q, Terez Hall (ankle) Q, Justin Herron (ankle) Q, J.C. Jackson (knee) Q, Anfernee Jennings (shoulder) Q, Devin McCourty (shoulder) Q, Donte Moncrief (thigh) Q, Matt Slater (knee) Q

New York Jets: Bless Austin (illness) Q, Javelin Guidry (knee) Q, Jeff Smith (shoulder) Q

New England Patriots

All great things must come to an end. At least that’s what Patriots fans must be telling themselves as this tumultuous 2020 season comes to a close. Much remained unknown after the departure of Tom Brady. However, signing Cam Newton and starting the year 2-1 had many analysts criticizing the executive community for allowing Bill Belichick to get his hands on Newton, a former NFL MVP. Despite the promising start, things have not fared so well for the Patriots since. A four-game losing streak not only gave them a sub-.500 record, it put them on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Winning four out of five to claw back to 6-6 brought hope, but it was quickly extinguished when they lost their next three and fell to 6-9. Now, as they finish out the season, the quarterback position remains the biggest question. Cam Newton signed a one-year deal and will therefore be a free agent. It remains to be seen how the Patriots will handle replacing Tom Brady.

Offensively, the Patriots have largely been one dimensional. While their 145.3 rushing yards per game ranks fifth in the NFL, their 176.8 passing yards per game is third-lowest in the league, ahead of only the Ravens and the Jets. Overall, it’s causing issues scoring the ball. Their 19.9 points per game are fifth-lowest in the NFL. In 14 games this season, Cam Newton has completed 65.4-percent of his passes for 2415 yards, just five touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. For reference, there are 19 other quarterbacks to have started at least 14 games this season so far. Of those 19 other quarterbacks, the lowest passing touchdown total is Teddy Bridgewater’s 15, and he’s the only one of those 19 to have less than 20. Again, of those 19 quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson is the only one to also have less than 3000 yards passing. That’s not to say Newton hasn’t piled up any stats, and it’s just much of his production has come on the ground. In addition to his passing stats, Newton also has 513 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns on the ground. New England’s inability to throw down the field, as well as their extreme tendency to run in the red zone and near the goal line, makes them predictable and much easier to stop. Outside of Newton, there is little to get excited about. Rookie running back Damien Harris has shown flashes when he has stayed on the field. He leads the team with 691 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Wide receivers Jakobi Meyers and Damiere Byrd lead the team, both with 74 targets each. Meyers has 53 receptions for 661 yards and no touchdowns, while Byrd has 46 receptions for 597 yards and one touchdown. With or without Cam Newton, the Patriots will need to expand their passing game moving forward if they want to be more successful.

While not as impressive as they were in 2019, the 2020 New England defense was still one of the league’s best in terms of points allowed per game up until a few weeks ago. Despite losing a few key free agents and having multiple starters opt-out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns, Bill Belichick still managed to put together a solid unit. However, the wheels appear to be coming off a bit as the car screeches across the finish line on this 2020 season. Particularly with the loss of star cornerback Stephon Gilmore, this defense has not been nearly as intimidating. After shutting out the Chargers in week 13, the Patriots allowed 24 to the Rams, 22 to the Dolphins, and 38 to the Bills to bring their points-per-game season average up to 22.6, which is still the 11th-lowest in the league. However, just a few short weeks ago, they were ranked much better than 11th. The Jets to finish out the season should be a good test as to where this defense is truly at heading into the offseason.

New England Patriots Depth Chart

QB: Cam Newton
RB1: Damien Harris
RB2: Sony Michel
WR1: Jakobi Meyers
WR2: Damiere Byrd
WR3: N’Keal Harry
TE: Dalton Keene

New York Jets

Much as it has been for New England, 2020 has not been kind to the Jets. In fact, it’s more like the cherry on top of a five-year losing record streak that the Jets now currently hold. It took until week seven against Buffalo to lose a game by only one score or less. Prior to that, in weeks 1-6, the Jets lost by an average deficit of 18.3 points per game. Since that game against Buffalo, a handful of their next six losses were much more competitive. They lost to the Patriots by three, the Chargers by six, and the raiders by three. However, still, no wins, and they sat at 0-13 and well on their way to the number one overall pick and the rights to draft Trevor Lawrence. Since then, they shocked the NFL community and won their next two games. First, they beat the Rams 23-20 and followed that up by devastating Browns fans with a 23-16 victory over Cleveland. Now at 2-13, their second overall pick is locked into place as they play their final regular-season game and enter what is sure to be a rocky offseason in Jets nation.

There’s not much to get particularly excited about looking at the Jets’ offense. First up is quarterback Sam Darnold. On the season, Darnold has completed just 58.8-percent of his passes for 1942 yards, eight touchdowns, and nine interceptions. These numbers are awful, and there’s no other way to put it. A change in scenery for Darnold in the offseason might shed light on how much of him is truly broken, or if the stink of the Jets organization was to blame entirely. In week 16, the team’s leading rusher, Frank Gore, became just the third running back in the history of the league to eclipse 16,000 rushing yards for their career. However, he will not add to that total in week 17, as he’ll be sitting out with a lung contusion. The Jets’ primary group of wide receivers includes Jamison Crowder (85 targets), Breshad Perriman (54 targets), Braxton Berrios (52 targets), and Denzel Mims (42 targets). Jamison Crowder leads the team in receptions with 55, receiving yards with 668, and receiving touchdowns with six. It was mostly a lost season for second-round draft pick Denzel Mims, who has played in just eight games and will enter the last week of the season with just 22 catches and 342 yards and no touchdowns. Crowder, Mims, Berrios, and Perine will likely all be back next season, with the status of Gore and Perriman uncertain as they were on only one-year contracts. The biggest question that remains is what quarterback will be leading all of these skill players next year.

The only thing exciting about the Jets defense in 2020 is how they have looked marginally better in the last few weeks during their two-game winning streak. Overall, however, it has not been pretty. Currently, their 28.6 points allowed per game is sixth-highest in the NFL. On eight different occasions, they have allowed at least 30 points and have given up 40 points once as well. Only twice this season have they allowed less than 20 (in week seven against the Bills, they allowed 18, and this past week against Cleveland, they allowed only 16). The excitement, however, may come with their future potential. Although he’ll finish the season out with injury, second-year breakout stud Quinnen Williams is a solid piece to build around. The former third-overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft put together a really good season after an underwhelming rookie year. Fifth-round cornerback Bryce Hall was thrust into a starting role as a rookie and has shown promise as well. Alongside the promising young players, the Jets can also expect the return of C.J. Mosley, who opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns, as well as breakout linebacker Neville Hewitt, who has stepped up in 2020 with the trading of Avery Williamson and absence of Mosley. While 2020 maybe a year to forget, the Jets have some pieces to get excited about going forward.

New York Jets Depth Chart

QB: Sam Darnold
RB1: La’Mical Perine
RB2: Ty Johnson
WR1: Jamison Crowder
WR2: Breshad Perriman
WR3: Denzel Mims
TE: Chris Herndon

Betting Corner New England -3

Spread: New England -3
Moneyline: New England -235, New York +190
Over/Under: 40

The Patriots open as three-point home favorites over the Jets in their final game of the regular season. The spread and over/under implies a point total for New England of 21.25 and 18.25 for the Jets. Additionally, according to DraftKings‘ betting lines, the 40 point over/under in this matchup is the lowest in the NFL in week 17. Lastly, the Patriots are 3-4 against the spread at home and 6-9 overall against the spread on the season. The Jets are 2-5 against the spread on the road and 4-11 against the spread overall this season.

Daily Fantasy Picks

La’Mical Perine

This is not an appealing game for fantasy options. However, there might be a few hidden gems. First up is La’Mical Perine, the Jets’ rookie running back who has played second-fiddle to Frank Gore much of the season. That will change in week 17, though, as Frank Gore has already been ruled out with a lung contusion. That should mean plenty of opportunities for Perine, who has averaged 7.5 touches per game this season, playing mostly as a second or third-string running back. This past weekend against the Browns, Perine carried the ball nine times and had one catch even with 14 carries and one reception for the ageless wonder Frank Gore. However, with Gore out, expect a healthy amount of touches for Perine, who is playing against DraftKings’ 21st-ranked team against opposing running backs. The best part of this is Perine’s price, as he’s currently just $4100 on DraftKings.

Jamison Crowder

If not Perine, consider playing Jamison Crowder. First, the Patriots rank only 16th against opposing wide receivers and are finishing out the season without star cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Second is his usage. Crowder received six receptions on eight targets in week 15 and seven receptions on nine targets in week 16. During these two games, he racked up 158 receiving yards and a touchdown reception, as well as one rush for 14 yards and one pass attempt for 43 yards and a touchdown. With Sam Darnold auditioning for a job in 2021 and beyond, expect him to rely on his most trusted receiver this week. Overall, there is potential for a ton of value to be had for Crowder at just $5000 on DraftKings. For reference, the top 13 options on DraftKings are all at least $7000. If you’re sold on spending up elsewhere, Crowder would be a great, low-owned option to round out your roster.