NFL Week 5: New York Jets @ New England Patriots

New York Jets @ New England Patriots Sun. Oct. 9, 2011 4:15 p.m. EST

Over the past few years, the AFC East division has been dominated by just two teams with the up-and-coming New York Jets and the resilient New England Patriots battling it out for the division title. This season the competition in the AFC East has gotten a little tougher with the emergence of the Buffalo Bills as a serious threat to contend for the division title, but for the time being smart money says the division title will be won by the Jets or the Patriots.

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Rex Ryan

With that being said, this weekend’s AFC East division showdown between Rex Ryan and Bill Belichick should be one of the most intriguing matchups of Week 5. Since the Jets are coming off their second straight loss and with the Patriots being able to bounce back last week with a win over the Oakland Raiders, this will be a must-win situation for both teams.

The New York Jets have failed to live up to expectations at this point in the NFL regular season with two losses in their first four games. Rex Ryan’s squad has a perfect record at home (2-0), but just can’t seem to get the job done on the road so far this season with losses to the Oakland Raiders (34-24) and the Baltimore Ravens (37-17). This game against the arch rival New England Patriots will be pivotal for the New York Jets because their schedule doesn’t get any easier from here on out with games against the San Diego Chargers (Week 7), Buffalo Bills (Week 8) and second matchup against the Patriots in Week 9.

Bill Belichick

Fortunately, next week the New York Jets will have an opportunity to get back on track regardless of what happens in Week 5 against the New England Patriots as they will face off against the division rival Miami Dolphins who have failed to record a single win thus far this season and just lost their starting quarterback Chad Henne for the rest of the year with a separated shoulder.

Despite Week 6 being a relatively easy win for the New York Jets, this week’s matchup against the New England Patriots will be arguably their toughest game of the season. With the Jets’ offense struggling and the defense not exactly as dominant as it should be, head coach Rex Ryan has almost certainly been forcing the issue this week and telling his players just how important this week’s game is.

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As of right now, the New England Patriots have been heavily favored to come out on top against their arch rivals with a -9 point spread. This spread does make sense with the recent struggles that the Jets have been going through both on offense and defense, but I believe the New York will step up this week and possibly pull off the upset over Tom Brady and company.

Take the Jets at +9.