RADIO
The NFL has had a really fun first two weeks of the season. Multiple shocking 0-2 teams, multiple shocking 2-0 teams. Trends are starting to form and teams are starting to find their season-long identities.
"Thursday Night Football" has been a bit of a mixed bag so far. Week 1's matchup went down to the wire, while Week 2 showcased a blowout. Let's hope that Week 3 looks more like the opening game and less like last week's matchup as the New England Patriots travel to face the rival New York Jets.
This piece will highlight the important matchups and start time for Thursday night's game.
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Who is Playing on "Thursday Night Football?"
Last week's Thursday night game was a matchup between two AFC East opponents, as the Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins. This week? It's a similar story, just with the other two teams in the division.
The 1-1 Patriots have been a bit feistier than expected so far this year, while the 1-1 Jets hope to have corrected their woes from their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Rhamondre Stevenson over 16.5 rush attempts (-105 ESPN)
- hit in 2/L2
- averaging 23 rush attempts in that span
- the jets are ranked 30th in rushing attempts allowed
- the patriots are clearly going to pound the rock on the ground no matter what
- the jets have a good secondary… pic.twitter.com/ecqJtjQFw2— Underdog Sports Analytics (@UnderdogSA1) September 17, 2024
The Patriots have been a surprisingly competitive team through two weeks, focusing on ball control and the running game on both sides of the ball.
On offense, the team has been effective at rushing through Rhamondre Stevenson and his impressive 201 yards rushing through two games. New England has also been stingy against the run, allowing an average of 58 yards per game on the ground and an elite 3.3 yards per carry allowed.
Aaron Rodgers’ best plays so far this season #JetUp pic.twitter.com/jL4AcWxQSD
— 𝙅𝙀𝙏𝙎 𝙈𝙀𝘿𝙄𝘼🛫 (@NYJets_Media) September 17, 2024
The Jets, meanwhile, have a reliably stingy defense and were expected to be elite on that side of the ball as well -- however, unfortunately for the New York faithful, they have not been as effective on defense as expected.
Ranked 21st overall in defensive effectiveness, per PFF, the team needed to rely more on the offense than it may have liked. Aaron Rodgers, taking his first two full games as a Jet, needed to shake some rust off from his Achilles injury recovery in Week 1, though he showed up effectively against the Tennessee Titans with two passing touchdowns en route to their first victory in Week 2.
When and How Can I Watch The Game?
Week 2's "Thursday Night Football" game is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. EDT.
Like most "Thursday Night Football" games the rest of the season, the game will be streamed through Amazon Prime Video. They have a 30-day trial you can sign up for if you are not already a Prime Video subscriber. If you are only interested in the streaming options, the going rate is $8.99/month for Amazon Prime Video, with a rate of $14.99/month if you want all services offered through Amazon Prime beyond video streaming.
Additionally, you can watch the game through the NFL+ app for $6.99/month. The downside of this option is that you'd only be able to watch it on a computer, phone, or tablet. If that is how you prefer consuming media, it is cheaper unless you opt for the 30-day trial of Amazon Prime Video.
Who is Going to Win?
Vegas has the betting line set with the home New York Jets as a healthy six-point favorite against the visiting Patriots.
For the Jets to win the game, running back Breece Hall needs to be more effective on the ground than the Patriots' opponents have been thus far.
Hall has been less explosive so far this season than we are used to seeing from him; among the 26 running backs with at least 24 rushing attempts so far this season, Hall is one of only seven players with two or fewer 10+ yard rushes. He needs to be more efficient and explosive to help Rodgers settle in on offense.
The Jets are 0-7 in their last 7 games vs the Patriots in primetime
They haven't beat New England in a regular season primetime game since November 2008 pic.twitter.com/WuE8ZOgnfv
— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) September 18, 2024
The Patriots would benefit from their continued forcing of one-dimensionality for opposing offenses. Given how stout their defense has been, the Patriots would make this game much closer if they could force Rodgers to pass the ball in difficult down-and-distances.
Additionally, New England's offense should continue being reliant on the run game and the efficient passing of Jacoby Brissett, one of only eight starting quarterbacks without an interception so far. This game has the makings of a potential defensive struggle.
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