What You Need to Know About Today's Patriots' Game Against the New York Jets

Editor’s Note: Information used in this article was provided by Patriots Media Relations

The New England Patriots will be looking for their 16th series sweep over the New York Jets when they travel to New York to face the Jets at 1 p.m. at MetLife Stadium for the second meeting of the season. The Patriots beat the Jets, 13-10, in a nationally- televised game played on Sept. 12 in a Thursday Night Football broadcast on the NFL Network. The Patriots have swept the season series in each of the last two years and can match their record with their third straight series sweep. The Patriots swept the series in three straight seasons in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

The Patriots enter this week’s game with 12 straight wins over AFC East opponents. It is the longest active streak against division opponents. The Denver Broncos own the second longest streak with seven straight wins against division opponents. After losing at Buffalo 34-31 in 2011, the Patriots won their remaining four AFC East games that year and then finished a perfect 6-0 against AFC East opponent in 2012. The Patriots extended their streak to 12 with wins at Buffalo and vs. the Jets in 2013. The Patriots are tied with Baltimore (2010-12), Green Bay (2010-12) and Indianapolis (2004-06) for the longest winning streak against division opponents since realignment in 2002. The longest streak of consecutive wins against division opponents since the 1970 NFL merger is 15 by Miami (1972-73).

To help you get ready for this afternoon’s game against the Jets, here are five things you need to know:

TV and Radio Information

This week’s game will be broadcast to a regional audience by CBS and can be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV. Greg Gumbel will handle play-by-play duties with Dan Dierdorf providing color. The game will be produced by Mark Wolff and directed by Suzanne Smith.  

NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience by ESPN Radio. Ryan Ruocco and Herm Edwards will call the game. Ian Fitzsimmons will report from the sidelines. 

LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. 

Series History

The Patriots and Jets will meet for the 110th time, including three postseason games, since the series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960. 

This week’s game will be the second meeting between the two teams in 2013. The Patriots defeated the Jets, 13-10, in a nationally-televised game played on NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football on Sept. 12 at Gillette Stadium. 

The Patriots will be looking for their sixth straight victory over the Jets and a series sweep for the third straight year and 16th time overall. 

Last season, the Patriots swept the annual series after a 29-26 overtime win at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 21 and a 49-19 win at MetLife Stadium on Thanksgiving night on Nov. 22. 

The Patriots lead the series, 56-52-1 overall. 

The Patriots are 25-27 all-time in the regular season on the road against the Jets and 1-0 against the Jets in the postseason on the road. The Patriots are 2-1 against the Jets at MetLife Stadium. 

The teams have played in the postseason three times, a 1985 Wild Card game, a 2006 Wild Card game and an AFC Divisional game in 2010. New England beat the Jets, 26-14, in 1985 at the Meadowlands on their way to Super Bowl XX. In 2006, the Patriots defeated the Jets, 37-16, at Gillette Stadium. The Jets defeated the Patriots, 28-21, in the 2010 playoff game.  

New England is 27-14 against the Jets since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. 

New England’s 56 overall victories over the Jets (including two playoff wins) are the second most over any single opponent, trailing only Buffalo with 65 all-time wins. 

New England Ties

• Jets President Neil Glat received his J.D. from Harvard Law School after graduating with a degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Jets General Manager John Idzik graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. in 1982 and played wide receiver for the Big Green for four seasons.
• Jets Senior VP of Marketing & Fan Management Seth Rabinowitz earned his bachelor’s degree from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. Patriots President Jonathan Kraft also graduated from Williams College in 1986.
• Jets VP of Business Development & Ventures Jeff Fernandez earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics/Applied Mathematics from Brown University in Providence, R.I.
• Jets Defensive Backs Coach Brian Smith graduated in 2000 from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., where he was a three-year starter at safety and cornerback. Smith went on to coach at UMass as well, coaching Linebackers in 2004 and wide receivers from 2005-2006.
• Jets Senior Personnel Executive Terry Bradway spent six years as a scout for the New York Giants from 1986-1991 during Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick's tenure as a linebackers/special teams coach (1986-1990) and Defensive Coordinator (1991).
• Jets Director of Pro Personnel Brendan Prophett played wide receiver for one year at the University of Maine before transferring to the College of New Jersey.
• Jets College Scout Rick Courtright attended Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education and played linebacker.
• College Area Scout Christopher Prescott is a Connecticut native and attended Western New England University in Springfield, Mass., where he played safety on the football team for four years.
• Jets OL Vladimir Ducasse, a native of Haiti, moved to Stamford, Conn., in 2002 and attended Stamford High School before going on to play four years as an offensive lineman at UMass Amherst. Ducasse started the final 35 games of his career at left tackle for the Minutemen and was named an FCS First-Team All-American as a senior in 2009.

New York Ties

• Patriots S Steve Gregory was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. andwas an All-City wide receiver at Curtis High School in Staten Island, N.Y., just 20 miles south of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Gregory’s father and stepmother are both New York City police officers and were on duty during the events of September 11, 2001.
• Patriots DB Devin McCourty attended Saint Joseph’s High School in Montvale, N.J., just 20 over miles north of MetLife Stadium. At the end of his senior year, McCourty was recruited to play in the 2005 New York/New Jersey Governor’s Bowl at Rutgers Stadium, located 10 miles south of East Rutherford.
• Patriots LB Steve Beauharnais hails from Saddle Brook, N.J., just 10 miles north of MetLife Stadium, and attended McCourty’s alma mater Saint Joseph’s High School for one year .

Former Patriots

• Jets College Area Scout Jay Mandolesi, a native of Springfield, Mass. and graduate of Springfield College, spent two years as an intern in the Patriots video department from 2002-2003 and earned a Super Bowl ring in 2003.
• Jets TE Zach Sudfeld signed with the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Nevada on May 3, 2013. Sudfeld hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Mallett during their second preseason contest against the Buccaneers, but did not record a catch through four regular-season games. Sudfeld was released by New England on Oct. 3, 2013 and was claimed off waivers by New York the following day.

Former Jets

• Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick spent three seasons with the Jets from 1997-1999, serving as an assistant head coach/secondary coach under Head Coach Bill Parcells. The Jets compiled a 29-19 record during Belichick’s tenure, capped by a 12-4 season in 1998 in which they won the AFC East and reached the playoffs for the first time since 1991.
• Patriots Linebackers Coach Pepper Johnson joined Belichick in New York for his final two NFL seasons from 1997-1998. Johnson started just eight games in 1997 due to injury but returned in 1998 as a team captain and started in all 16 contests.
• Patriots Offensive Coaching Assistant Brian Daboll spent two years as Quarterbacks Coach for the Jets from 2007- 2008.
• Patriots Director of Football/Head Coach Administration Berj Najarian spent five years in the New York Jets Public Relations department before joining the Patriots in 2000. Najarian is a native of Manhasset, N.Y., less than 30 miles east of MetLife Stadium.
• Patriots CB Marquice Cole and TE Matthew Mulligan spent three seasons together on the Jets from 2009-2011. Cole was a valuable special teams player in New York, while Mulligan contributed six catches for a total of 60 yards in three seasons as a reserve tight end.

Former NFL Teammates

• Patriots S Steve Gregory played in the defensive backfield with Jets CB Antonio Cromartie for three seasons from 2006-2009 on the San Diego Chargers. Jets LB Antwan Barnes was also teammates with Gregory for two seasons (2010-2011) in San Diego.
• Patriots WR Danny Amendola and Jets DL Leger Douzable were teammates during the 2009 season on the St. Louis Rams. Amendola was also teammates with Jets K Nick Folk in Dallas during Amendola’s stint on the Cowboys’ practice squad in 2008.

Former College Teammates

• Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower and Jets CB DeeMilliner spent two years as defensive teammates at Alabama from 2010-2011 and won a National Championship during their second year together in 2011.
• Patriots DT Vince Wilfork and Jets TE Kellen Winslow were teammates for three seasons at the University of Miami (Fla.) from 2001-2003 and won a National Championship during their first season together in 2001.
• Jets TE Jeff Cumberland teamed up with Patriots TE Michael Hoomanawanui for four seasons at the University of Illinois (2006-2009). Cumberland also joined Patriots DB Tavon Wilson for two seasons (2008-2009) and DE Michael Buchanan for one season (2009) on the Fighting Illini.
• Patriots G Logan Mankins and Jets LB Garrett McIntyre were teammates at Fresno State for three seasons from 2002-2004.
• Jets WR Jeremy Kerley was teammates with Patriots OL Marcus Cannon for two seasons (2007-2008) and WR Josh Boyce for one season (2010) at TCU.

What to Look for Against the Jets

Tom Brady

Tom Brady (342) needs one touchdown against the Jets to move out of a tie with Fran Tarkenton (342) and move into sole possession of fourth place on the NFL’s all-time touchdown list. Dan Marino is in third place with 420 touchdowns.

Julian Edelman

Julian Edelman to maintain his punt return average of 12.7 (90-1,139) and remain one of seven NFL players with a punt return average of 12.0 or above.

Edelman needs one more punt return for a touchdown to set the team mark with his fourth punt returned for a touchdown. He is tied with Irving Fryar and Troy Brown with three returns for a touchdown.

Stephen Gostkowski

Stephen Gostkowski has seven field goals of 40 or more yards in 2013, including a 53 yard field goal and a career long 54-yard field goal. He needs five more field goals of 40 or more yards to set the Patriots record for most 40-yard field goal in a single season. Adam Vinatieri had 11 field goals of 40 or more yards in 2004 and 1998 and Gostkowski had 11 such field goals in 2012.

Rob Ninkovich

Rob Ninkovich has the most fumble recoveries of any NFL player over the last four years (2010-13) with 10 and can add on to that total with a fumble recovery against the Jets.

Stevan Ridley

Stevan Ridley has a career average of 4.44 yards (444- 1,974) and needs six carries against the Jets to meet the team qualification of 450 attempts to have the highest rushing average in team history.

Kenbrell Thompkins

Kenbrell Thompkins has 21 receptions for 318 yards and four touchdowns on the season. The most touchdowns in a rookie season by a free agent wide receiver in the common draft era (since 1967) is six by Stephone Paige in 1983 with Kansas City. Thompkins needs two more touchdowns to match that total.

Team

The Patriots have forced a turnover in 33 straight games dating back to 2011, the longest active streak in the NFL. The last time that the Patriots did not register at least one takeaway was on Oct. 9, 2011 vs. the NY Jets.

A win over Jets will extend the Patriots record to 13 straight wins over AFC East opponents. The Patriots are tied with Baltimore (2010-12), Green Bay (2010-12) and Indianapolis (2004-06) for the longest winning streak against division opponents since realignment in 2002. The longest streak of consecutive wins against division opponents since the 1970 NFL merger is 15 by Miami (1972-73).

The Patriots will be looking for their 16th series sweep over the New York Jets The Patriots swept the season series in each of the last two years and can match their record with their third straight series sweep. The Patriots swept the series in three straight seasons in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

The Patriots are one win away from tying Oakland for the most regular season wins among the original eight AFL teams. The Patriots have 431 wins and Oakland has 432 wins.

Patriots Look For 13th Consecutive Win Against an AFC East Opponent

The Patriots enter this week’s game with 12 straight wins over AFC East opponents. It is the longest active streak against division opponents. The Denver Broncos own the second longest streak with seven straight wins against division opponents. After losing at Buffalo, 34-31, in 2011, the Patriots won their remaining four AFC East games that year and then finished a perfect 6-0 against AFC East opponent in 2012. The Patriots extended their streak to 12 with wins at Buffalo and vs. the Jets in 2013. The Patriots are tied with Baltimore (2010-12), Green Bay (2010-12) and Indianapolis (2004-06) for the longest winning streak against division opponents since realignment in 2002. The longest streak of consecutive wins against division opponents since the 1970 NFL merger is 15 by Miami (1972-73).