New England Patriots aims to clinch AFC East title as they face New York Jets – NFL Week 12 Preview
It will be a done and dusted affair for New England Patriots if they manage to beat their American Football Conference (AFC) East rivals New York Jets in their Week 12 tie on Thursday, November 22, 2012, at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The two teams are currently standing in different scenarios. Patriots are on role to lead as they have won six of their last seven games.
Meanwhile, Jets are hoping to continue their winning momentum. They defeated St. Louis Rams 27-13 in Week 11. It was their first victory after three consecutive losses.
Patriots have won four games in a row, which started with a 29-26 overtime win against Jets in Week 7.
However, the team from New England will be without their quarterback Tom Brady’s favourite target, tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The Pro Bowler will likely miss four to six weeks due to broken left arm. Gronkowski is a major part of the Patriots offensive scheme.
Gronkowski has become only the first tight end to score 10 touchdowns in three consecutive seasons. He has received 53 passes for 748 passing yards, the highest by a tight end this season.
Brady himself knows how much the absence of Gronkowski will affect the overall performance of the game. According to the Associated Press Brady said:
"It's part of this game. He's (Gronkowski) got to do his best to get back as soon as possible, and we've got to go out there and win some games without him."
It is not likely that Brady’s performance will get affected as the player has previously coped up with the absence of tight end Aaron Hernandez who has missed six games this season.
Patriots (7-3) head coach Bill Belichick has indicated that Hernandez will be a game-time decision. The tight end returned to the practice on Monday, November 19.
During last four victories, Brady has posted quarterback rating of 111.3 with the help of 11 touchdowns and no interceptions.
On the other hand, Jets (4-6) are boosted by better performance from their defensive team. However, they have a big task of winning most of their remaining games to have any chance of qualifying for the postseason.
However, Jets head coach Rex Ryan is optimistic about his team’s chances. He said:
"Right now, we're just swinging. We're going to focus on our opponents, specifically, but anything we do, we're behind where we have to be. We can only focus on ourselves and just find a way to punch it. We earned where we are and we just have to find a
way to punch our way out."
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez will have to remain turnover free like he did last week in order to give the defence a chance to put pressure on Brady and company.
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