Pigskin Futures

If I may paraphrase Indiana Jones… "The Jets… Why'd it have to be the Jets?"

Been there, done that. 12-2-0 with games against the Jets and Dolphins, just like 2015. Losing both those games meant a road trip to Denver for the AFC Championship and a bitter two-point loss to the eventual Super Bowl champs.

Things are different this year compared to last, of course.

Last year a banged up Pats team faced the Jets before Fitzmagic ran out of pixie dust. Then there was the disastrous game in Miami where a New England team without an offensive line inexplicably tried to run the ball against a Dolphins defense fronted by Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake with predictable results.

This year all signs point to a blowout win on Christmas Eve for the Patriots against the Jets in Foxborough with an outside chance of a Jimmy Garoppolo start against the Dolphins in Miami to close out the regular season. (Go Colts! Wait-What? Did I just say that out loud?) The Patriots have lost Rob Gronkowski for the season but are otherwise as healthy as any NFL team can hope to be in Week 16. The Gronk-less offense remains diverse and lethal with Tom Brady dealing to Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, Martellus Bennett and James White. They have a solid offensive line and a legit running game with LeGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis. The defense straight up terrorized Trevor Siemian in Denver and looks primed to do the same to Bryce Petty. To say the Jets are a team in disarray doesn't do justice to disorder, confusion and chaos. Watching Jets defenders jog listlessly in the general direction of opponents' running backs and wide receivers is like viewing a performance art piece titled "Quitting."

And yet… Rivalry games have a way of not going to plan.

Do the Jets have enough players left who care enough to actually pull off the upset? Being as objective as I can be, no. The answer is no. The Jets are a mess. I'm not sure they could beat the Browns right now and believe it or not, things can only get worse from here. As must-read Rich Hill broke down the broke down on Pats Pulpit, the NYJ have little choice but to blow it up and start over. The Jets roster is old and overpaid. The best QB the franchise has drafted in recent years is (wait for it)... Mark Sanchez. That's right. Mark "Where Is He Now?" Sanchez. Geneo Smith is a bust and not the Canton kind. If Bryce Petty was any good they wouldn't have re-signed Ryan Fitzpatrick. Or drafted Christian Hackenberg. Okay, nobody knows why they drafted Hackenberg and I guess that's the point. This is a terribly constructed football team that unsurprisingly has a stranglehold on last place in the AFC East at 4-10-0. Remember when Eric Decker said the AFC East was "up for grabs" because of Tom Brady's September sabbatical? Seems like a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away now, doesn't it?

Still… The Jets.  

From Bill Belichick and his coaches to the captains to every man on the roster, the Patriots sound like they've learned the lessons of recent history. No let down. Finish strong. The East is not enough. Leave nothing to chance. Bring the AFC Championship game back to Foxborough.

As a Pats fan, should I really be worried? Probably not.

While I don't think Todd Bowles deserves to be fired I do think he will be. These aren't Rex Ryan's Jets. Even at 4-10-0, I would've expected a Ryan coached Jets team to play hard to the final whistle in the final game. General Manager Mike Maccagnan should probably be fired if only for drafting Christian Hackenberg but he's only been on the job for a year so he probably survives The Purge: Salary Cap Casualties. That Jets players have so obviously quit on Bowles is hard to ignore. If this Christmas Eve game plays out like the oddsmakers would have it, Bowles could be back on the coaching carousel come Monday.

But yeah. I'm still worried. Why'd it have to be the Jets?

Because it will feel so, so good.