Jets look to close season by ending long skid against Patriots
Jets head coach Robert Sale, left, speaks with quarterback Aaron Rodgers before a game against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: /Lee S. Weissman
The Jets’ disappointing season won’t be salvaged with a win in their finale in New England on Sunday, but it would mean a lot to the players in that locker room.
“The goal is breaking the losing streak, honestly,” linebacker Quincy Williams said.
The Jets have lost 15 in a row to Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Their last win was in 2015. Williams said it’s not openly talked about, but some players have discussed wanting to be able to say they snapped the long skid.
“It might be some type of side conversation,” Williams said. “It’s in the back of everyone’s heads for sure just because of the rivalry of the teams.”
For the first time since 2002, the Jets (6-10) will finish ahead of the Patriots (4-12) in the AFC East. But the streak is what matters.
The Jets have come close the last three times they’ve played the Patriots. All have been one-score games.
Rumblings are that this could be Belichick’s final game as the Patriots’ coach. He would want nothing more than to beat the Jets on his way out. Current and former Jets would love to send Belichick off with a loss.
Rookie center Joe Tippmann, who was coached by former Jets offensive tackle Jason Fabini in grade school and high school, said Fabini told him to beat the Patriots.
“Yeah,” Tippmann said with a laugh, “he mentioned it.”
Williams was encouraged by how the Jets returned to the facility to start their final week of preparation. He said no one is looking forward to vacation just yet.
As a defense, the Jets want to leave this season on a positive note after a rough first-half performance in Thursday night’s 37-20 loss in Cleveland.
“With it being the last game, most people already have their mindset on their vacation and stuff,” Williams said. “It’s not that way in the locker room so I’m actually excited about that. Came in today, everyone’s talking about game-planning, getting ready for the week.
“Knowing it’s the last game, most people are like checking out or something like that, but it’s not what’s going on inside the locker room. The biggest thing is preparing, putting our best tape out there. The defensive part is playing our type of ball because we didn’t showcase that on Thursday. So we got one more opportunity as a team, as this team built the way it is right now, so we’re going to take full advantage of that.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
