BARRY WILNER
AP Pro Football Writer
In the midst of their worst slide since Rex Ryan became coach, the last thing the New York Jets need is a trip to New England.
On a Thursday night.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has won 40 consecutive regular-season home games against AFC opponents and is 6-0 in Thursday night games. New England (4-2) has won its last two to grab sole possession of first place in the division.
Meanwhile, New York (1-5) has lost every game after opening with a win over Oakland.
The Patriots (No. 10 in AP Pro32) are 9 1/2-point favorites over the Jets (No. 29).
Ryan’s team gets its share of sacks despite an inconsistent pass rush, but its secondary is in shambles. The prime-time matchup comes just as Brady is warming up after a slow start.
“Facing him?” Ryan said, noting that the Jets lost to Peyton Manning and the Broncos last Sunday. “Back-to-back Hall of Fame guys; how many Hall of Famers are there playing a position in the league? I don’t know. But we have two in a row, first-ballot guys, obviously. So there is a huge challenge there. You know you’re going to face a guy that isn’t going to be surprised by a lot of things, again, but you have to put some kind of hesitation or some kind of doubt in him to maybe disrupt his rhythm a little bit.”
Brady has had some struggles against New York — he even lost a playoff home game to the Jets in January 2011. But he’s 18-5 against them in the regular season.
“I think it doesn’t really matter what their record is coming into this game because they are a great rival,” Brady said. “We had a couple of bad weeks and have turned it around. They can turn it around just as easy.”
Not this week.
PATRIOTS, 33-13
No. 24 Atlanta (plus 7) at No. 12 Baltimore
Falcons didn’t look too good at home, and we know they are awful on road.
BEST BET: RAVENS, 30-17
No. 18 Houston (plus 3 1/2) at No. 22 Pittsburgh, Monday night
Rested Texans pull off a prime-time …
UPSET SPECIAL: TEXANS, 20-17
No. 6 San Francisco (plus 6 1/2) at No. 1 Denver
Spiciest matchup of week. Manning will test Niners’ secondary.
BRONCOS, 30-27
No. 5 Seattle (minus 6 1/2) at No. 27 St. Louis
An ornery bunch of Seahawks not what Rams want to see.
SEAHAWKS, 23-10
No. 17 Kansas City (plus 4) at No. 2 San Diego
With Broncos up next in a short week, Chargers could get trapped here.
CHARGERS, 23-21
No. 21 New York Giants (plus 5 1/2) at No. 3 Dallas
Are Giants really that bad? Are Cowboys really that good?
COWBOYS, 28-22
No. 15 Cleveland (minus 5 1/2) at No. 32 Jacksonville
Look at this: Browns are favored on road. Then again, they’re facing Jaguars.
BROWNS, 30-16
No. 8 Arizona (minus 3 1/2) at No. 31 Oakland
Even these banged-up Cardinals have a bit too much for Raiders.
CARDINALS, 23-20
No. 20 New Orleans (plus 3) at No. 13 Detroit
Two teams impossible to trust. Go with hosts.
LIONS, 30-28
No. 23 Miami (plus 3 1/2) at No. 16 Chicago
Two more teams impossible to trust. Go with hosts again.
BEARS, 27-20
No. 11 Cincinnati (plus 3) at No. 7 Indianapolis
From elite team to mediocrity? Bengals headed in wrong direction.
COLTS, 26-21
No. 14 Carolina (plus 7) at No. 9 Green Bay
Aaron Rodgers’ magic touch lifted Packers last week. He could need it again.
PACKERS, 24-23
No. 25 Tennessee (plus 5) at No. 28 Washington
If Redskins are going to get off schneid, now is right time. Or maybe not.
TITANS, 23-20
No. 26 Minnesota (plus 4 1/2) at No. 19 Buffalo
Buffalo gets first win for new owners.
BILLS, 19-13
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2014 RECORD: Against spread: This week (11-4); Season (47-39-3). Straight up: This week (10-4-1); Season (60-29-1)
Best Bet: 4-2 against spread, 5-1 straight up.
Upset special: 6-0 against spread, 4-2 straight up.
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