New England is 1-1 after their surprising Week 1 victory over the Bengals in Cincinnati before a disappointing home-opener loss to the Seahawks in overtime on Sunday.
The Jets have had the opposite path to 1-1 as they come off of their first victory of the season: a 24-17 Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans. The win was quarterback Aaron Rodgers' first with the Jets after missing virtually the entire 2023 season and dropping the team's first game of this year to the 49ers.
The Jets and Patriots will meet on "Thursday Night Football" for the first of two divisional clashes this year between the two teams that were at the bottom of the AFC East in 2023.
Since their first matchup in 1960, the two teams have played 130 times across the regular season and postseason. Though the Jets boasted early dominance in the rivalry – they beat the then-Boston Patriots nine times in a row between 1966 and 1970 – it's been all Patriots since the Tom Brady era began in 2001.
Last year, New York snapped the Patriots' 15-game win streak in the rivalry that dated back to 2016. Before the Jets' 17-3 win in Week 18, the team hadn't defeated New England in regulation since their meeting in the 2010 playoffs. The Jets' last regular season win in regulation while playing at New England had been in 2006.
Both teams are 1-1 and tied for second place in the AFC East entering Thursday's game.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh seeks his second career win over the Patriots, while first-year Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo looks to pick up where predecessor Bill Belichick left off.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be starting under center in his fourth game for the Jets and his first against the Patriots since leaving Green Bay. On the other side of the field, Jacoby Brissett is making his third start in a second stint with New England, where he began his pro career in 2016, as the Patriots continue to allow rookie quarterback Drake Maye additional time to develop.
Through two games so far this season, New England has been among the best scoring defenses in the NFL. It currently ranks fifth with 33 total points allowed – to the Bengals and Seahawks – through Week 2.
The Jets are closer to the opposite end of the spectrum in a very small sample size. They've allowed 49 total points in their two games against the 49ers and Titans, which ranks seventh-worst.
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