The Patriots host the Jets this week. It's a matchup of the league's top-scoring offense versus the league's top defense in terms of fewest points allowed. New England is averaging 37 points per game, while the Jets are allowing just 15 points per game.
How have the Patriots fared against similar defenses in the past? In each of the past five seasons, New England has had one of the league's top 5 offenses in terms of points scored. In those five years, they've played 13 games against defenses ranked in the top 5 in terms of fewest points allowed.
In just over half of those games (7), New England has gone out and scored at least 30 points anyway. In two of the other six contests, they've scored 23 points.
Four times out of 13, they've been held under 20 points. About 30 percent of the time, they've been shut down by the opposing defense. One of those games, though, was a Week 17 contest against Buffalo where they pulled starters early.
The Jets have a great defense, and it will be tough sledding this week for New England. Not much recent history, though, to say anyone should drop Tom Brady and his main targets too far in the rankings.
| NEW ENGLAND VS. TOP DEFENSES, 2010-2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Score (N.E. over 30 in bold) | ||
| 2014 | Kansas City 41, New England 14 | ||
| 2014 | New England 37, Buffalo 22 | ||
| 2014 | Buffalo 17, New England 9 | ||
| 2013 | Cincinnati 13, New England 6 | ||
| 2013 | New England 30, New Orleans 27 | ||
| 2012 | Seattle 24, New England 23 | ||
| 2012 | New England 31, Denver 21 | ||
| 2012 | San Francisco 41, New England 34 | ||
| 2011 | Pittsburgh 25, New England 17 | ||
| 2010 | New England 39, Pittsburgh 26 | ||
| 2010 | New England 23, Baltimore 20 | ||
| 2010 | New England 36, Chicago 7 | ||
| 2010 | New England 31, Green Bay 27 | ||
--Andy Richardson