It's finally here...the Jets vs. the Patriots with first place in the AFC East on the line.  This is what we Jets fans have been waiting for, a late season matchup against the reigning AFC champs with a chance to put them in out rear view mirror.  This is the reason why the Jets got Brett Favre and all the other big names in the off-season, to beat New England in a game that matters.  The Jets have been getting knocked around by the Patriots ever since Tom Brady took over the reigns.  The Jets have been rolling the past three weeks and have plenty of momentum heading up to Foxborough on Thursday night.

Brett Favre, the old gunslinger, came here for a chance to win one more before he rides off into the sunset.  This is the game the Jets really need him to step up and flash some of that "Favre magic".  Last week against the Rams, Favre played a well managed game.  He threw for only 167 yards and a touchdown, but no interceptions.  They did not need him to do a lot with Thomas Jones running all over the field.  Brett has seen a ton of these games during his career, more than any of his teammates have.  The bottom line is that he is a winner and should be able to lead gang green to a win.  The offensive line has also played a lot better in recent weeks.  They have not allowed a sack the past two weeks, which has allowed Favre to cut down on his mistakes (one interception in the past two games).  Jones has also benefitted from this as well.  He now leads the AFC in rushing with 750 yards.  However, the best part of the Patriots defense is their defensive line.  If the Jets are to have any success on Thursday, then they need to somehow establish the running game.

As long as Favre is upright, then I expect the passing game to have success in this game.  The Patriots have no Rodney Harrison or Adalius Thomas playing in the game and the Jets need to expose that.  Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery are both having very solid seasons for Jets.  I expect them to be a huge part of the offense in this game.  Coles is always up for big games and he should be amped up for this one.  Another option that emerged for Favre is Dustin Keller.  He had his best game of the season last week against St. Louis to a tune of 6 receptions for 107 yards.  The Jets are very high on their first round draft pick, especially after the game the just had.  With Keller emerging and Chansi Stuckey out there, New York has plenty of good options for Favre to throw to.  The difference between this game and the game in week two is that the offense is finally on the same page.  The first time they played this season Favre did not know the playbook and the Jets were still meshing as a team.  Favre knows what is going on now and the offensive line is really clicking with each other at the right time.

As usual, the defense will have its work cutout for them.  In week two, Matt Cassel was making his first career start in the NFL and played a very smart game for the Patriots.  He threw for 165 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, not flashy but it got the job done.  He still has Wes Welker and Randy Moss to throw the ball to.  The Jets need to find a way to slow them down.  They will have some help this week with the free agent acquisition of Ty Law.  He may not play all that much with only two days to prepare, but he is a veteran and knows both teams well.  He also may not be a shut down corner anymore, but with him on one side and Darrelle Revis on the other, the Jets secondary will be much improved for the rest of the season.  One of the keys will be to limit Welker as much as they can.  Even if that means giving Moss one or two deep ones in the process.  Welker helps that offense go.  He is their go to guy on third down.  Slow him down and they should be able to slow down the whole offense.

The defensive line, which in one of the tops in the NFL, needs to get pressure on Cassel.  The Jets are second in the NFL in sacks with 31.  Shaun Ellis is quietly having a pro-bowl season for New York, leading the team with seven sacks.  The defensive MVP has been Kris Jenkins so far.  What a huge difference he has had on the defensive line for the Jets.  The Jets are 5th in the league against the run, surrendering only 76 yards per game.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis will be starting for the Patriots this week and he is coming off a 105 yard rushing performance against a good Buffalo Bills defense.  The Jets should be able to limit him and force Cassel to beat him with his arm.  New York needs to keep constant pressure on him and force him to make mistakes.  They had constant pressure on Marc Bulger and Trent Green last week and Trent Edwards the week before.  They caused big turnovers that they turned into scores.  Abram Elam had an interception return for a touchdown and Calvin Pace had a fumble return for a touchdown the past two weeks.

The bottom line is the Jets have to win this game to establish them-selves as a force in the AFC.  This is a game that they went out and got Favre, Pace, Jenkins, Damien Woody, Alan Faneca and now Law.  This is a great rivalry in the NFL and I would expect both teams to come out with guns blazing.  The main key's for the Jets is just to keep pressuring Cassel and take advantage of his mistakes and for Favre to limit his mistakes and recapture some of the old "Favre magic".  The Jets finally get over the hump and take this one on the road by a 28-17 score.

Jets 47.  Rams 3.  Now that's what Eric Mangini has been talking about all season, a complete game.  The offense was almost perfect, scoring on their first eight possessions.  The defense was just as good getting five turnovers against the Rams with one defensive touchdown.  The Jets did not get caught up in a potential "trap game" with a trip to New England looming this coming Thursday.  And with the Patriots coming up, this was a perfect tune up with 1st place on the line in Foxborough.

Thomas Jones was one of the main factors on offense Sunday.  He had his second 3 touchdown game of he season while also adding 149 yards rushing.  Jones, who coming into the game was the AFC's 2nd leading rusher, is really proving this season that last season was just bad season on a bad team.  He now has 750 rushing yards on the season and is on pace for over 1300 yards.  He also had 8 touchdowns on the ground and is also on pace for about 15 this season.  I know it's tough to say that he will get to 15, but it's a whole lot better than last season when he only had one rushing touchdown.  Dustin Keller was also a big part of the offense on Sunday.  The Jets second pick in this year's draft, 30th overall, had by far his best game of the season with 6 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown.  His biggest catch of the day came on the Jets second possession when Brett Favre went over the top to hit him for a 54 yard reception that led to a Jets field goal and a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.  New York has been waiting for him to break out and be a threat in the offense.  Hopefully this will lead to bigger things for the young tight end.

For the second straight week, Brett Favre managed the Jets offense, this time to perfection.  He ended up going 14-19 for 167 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.  Not flashy by any means but it got the job done.  Since the game got out of hand early, the Jets relied on the run.  They rushed 43 times for a total of 206 yards.  The Rams had one of the worst rushing defenses coming into the game, so the Jets took full advantage.  In addition to the 149 yards from Jones, Leon Washington added another 54 yards on the ground.  The offensive line continues to improve for the Jets.  For the second straight week they allowed zero sacks.  Favre has been getting excellent protection which has led to him having only one turnover the past two weeks, a major improvement over the first seven weeks of the season. 

The defense was a major factor to Sunday's win as well.  Eric Barton had a huge game for the Jets.  He contributed with 10 tackles and a half a sack.  He had constant pressure on the quarterback all day.  Calvin Pace, one of the Jets big free agent acquisitions in the off-season, also had a big play early in the game.  On the Rams second possession of the day, Marc Bulger was pressured and fumbled the ball.  Pace picked it up off one bounce and took it 50 yards to the house for the touchdown.  The fumble was caused by Abram Elam, who last week had a touchdown of his own after an interception against the Buffalo's Trent Edwards.  Kerry Rhodes also had one of his better games of the season on Sunday.  He had one interception which led to a touchdown and a fumble recovery which led to a field goal.  Overall, the Jets defense had five turnovers against the Rams which led to 27 points.

The Jets defensive line had another solid afternoon, only surrendering 80 rushing yards on 21 attempts.  The Jets rushing defense will remain one of the top four in the NFL after this performance.  The passing defense really stepped up this week.  They gave up only 135 yards in the air and gave the Rams receivers headaches all day.  St. Louis ended up playing both Marc Bulger and Trent Green, only to get no where with either of them. Bulger had only 6 completions while Green only had 5.  The pass defense is the weakest part of the Jets defense and they really stepped it up on Sunday.  This unit has continued to improve as the weeks have gone by.

This was a huge win for the Jets.  With a short week ahead, they needed to keep their momentum going before heading up to New England.  Both the offense and defense has improved each week over the last month or so.  With the exception of the loss in Oakland three weeks ago, the Jets have managed to win five of their last six games.  They now see themselves at 6-3, tied with the Patriots, heading up to Foxborough on Thursday to face them.  This is the first time in a while the Jets see themselves in first place this late in a season.  If they can play on Thursday the way they did against the Rams, then they will be in the drivers seat for a potential AFC East title this season.  It's still a long way to go, but they have put themselves in a very good position.  This was a good win in a game they had to win.  Next up is payback against the Patriots.