Patriots-Jets Week 11 news, notes, and fun facts
FOXBORO -- Did you enjoy that Patriots-Jets game three weeks ago? It was pretty good, wasn't it?
Would you like another? Heck yeah, you want another. The AFC East foes will be back at it again Sunday afternoon, this time at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots escaped New Jersey with a much-needed 22-17 win back in Week 8, taking full advantage of three Zach Wilson interceptions and an extremely fortunate flag that wiped out a Mac Jones pick-six. That win saved New England's season, and has them in the middle of the playoff picture at the moment.
Both teams are coming off their bye week, so they'll be rested up and ready for this tilt. The 6-3 Jets slid into second place in the division over the weekend and sit just one game behind the Dolphins for first place, while the Patriots remain in the basement at 5-4.
Suffice to say, this is a pretty big one for both teams. Before their week-long break, the Jets beat the then-first-place Bills. They also have a win over the Dolphins this season. The Patriots are the only AFC East team that the Jets haven't beaten this year.
They haven't beaten the Patriots in a while, which is just one of the many notes and fun facts we have for you ahead of Week 11's Patriots-Jets clash.
Week 11 Notes
- The Patriots have won 13 straight against the Jets and are going for a seventh straight series sweep this weekend. They have swept the season series 22 times overall.
- A 14th straight win over the Jets would give the Patriots the longest active winning streak over a single opponent, passing the 13-game winning streaks by the Chiefs (vs. the Broncos) and the Eagles (vs. the New York Jets).
- The 13 straight wins over the Jets is the second-longest winning streak against an opponent in Patriots team history, behind only the 15-game winning streak that New England had over the Buffalo Bills from 2003-10.
- The Patriots are 43-16 against the Jets since Robert Kraft purchased the team. Bill Belichick is 36-11 against the Jets as head coach of the Patriots.
- New England leads the overall series against the Jets 72-54-1.
- The Patriots are 18-4 against the Jets at Gillette Stadium.
- All four teams in the AFC East are above .500 at the moment. It's just the fifth time that all four teams in a division have a winning record through nine games since 2002.
- Both the Patriots and the Jets have scored 21 touchdowns this season. The Patriots are averaging 22.6 points per game (tied for 14th in the NFL) while the Jets are averaging 21.8 points (19th).
- Defense is really the name of the game with these two teams. The New England D is allowing just 18.4 points per game, which is sixth-best in the NFL, while the Jets are 10th at 19.6 points per game.
Player Notes
- After his three-sack effort against the Colts in Week 9, Matthew Judon leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks. He needs just one more to match his career-high, which he set last season with New England.
- Judon is on pace for 22 sacks, which would tie him for the second-most in an NFL season behind the 22.5 sacks by Michael Strahan in 2001 and T.J. Watt in 2021. Judon is on pace to break New England's team record of 18.5 sacks, which was set by Andre Tippett during the 1984 season.
- Devin McCourty had two interceptions against the Jets in Week 8, and has 33 for his career. He enters this weekend tied with Minnesota's Harrison Smith for the most interceptions among active players.
- McCourty has 39 takeaways for his career. With one more, he'll become just the fourth Patriots player with 40 and tie Ty Law for third-most in franchise history. Raymond Clayborn ranks first with 44 takeaways, while Fred Marion is second with 42.
- Jalen Mills has two interceptions this season and needs one more to set a new career-high.
- Nick Folk needs five more field goals to become the fifth Patriots player with 100 field goals, joining Stephen Gostkowski (374), Adam Vinatieri (263), Gino Cappelletti (176), and John Smith (128). Folk has a pair of five field-goal games in his career, and both came this season: Week 5 vs. Detroit and Week 8 at New York.
- DeVante Parker is averaging 21.4 yards per reception, which is the second-highest in the NFL after Gabe Davis' 22.7-yard per reception average.
Connections
- You may remember that Bill Belichick was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator of the Jets from 1997-99. You may also remember that Belichick was the head coach of the Jets twice -- but he never coached a game for the franchise. Belichick was named interim head coach of the Jets while New York and New England negotiated compensation for Bill Parcells in February of 1997, but that only lasted six days. He was then set to take over the Jets when Parcells stepped down in 1999, but that only lasted a day. His introduction turned into a resignation, after Belichick let the Jets know that he was stepping down as "HC of the NYJ" on a napkin. He then took over the New England Patriots, which has worked out pretty well.
- Patriots kicker Nick Folk spent seven seasons with the Jets from 2010-16.
- Braxton Berrios was a sixth-round pick by the Patriots in 2018. He was on IR his rookie season and was released ahead of the 2019 season, which is when the Jets claimed him. Berrios has earned First Team All-Pro honors as a return man in 2021.
Tune in to Patriots-Jets on Sunday on WBZ-TV -- the TV home of the New England Patriots! Coverage begins Wednesday night on TV38 with Patriots 1st Down at 9:30pm, and continues on Friday night on WBZ-TV with Patriots All Access at 7pm! We kick things off Sunday with Patriots GameDay at 11:30am, the Pats and the Jets kick off at 1pm, and after the game switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
