Offensive Stars to Watch as New York Jets Face Rival New England Patriots

The last two weeks have probably felt like a dress rehearsal for the New York Jets offense.

Both games were on the road. Both games featured slow starts.

The Jets (1-1) are hoping they can get off to a fast start when they play their home opener against the New England Patriots on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium.

The Jets are coming off a 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans, one in which their running backs played huge roles. Breece Hall had more than 100 yards and scored a touchdown, while his back up, rookie Braelon Allen, scored a pair.

It was Allen who scored the go-ahead touchdown and quarterback Aaron Rodgers who led the go-ahead drive.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots are coming off an overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Given an unsettled quarterback situation, they’ve relied heavily upon the run game and have one of the most used backs in the NFL after two weeks.

New England has made dominating time of possession their weapon of choice, which means the Jets defense will have to work hard to get the Patriots off the field.

Here are the offensive players to watch for both teams entering Thursday’s game.

RB Braelon Allen

Look, Breece Hall is the starter. He’s going to carry the majority of the load, and he showed off why against the Tennessee Titans. He combined for 114 yards rushing and receiving and scored a touchdown.

But Allen proved he can be a valuable resource for the Jets this season. The fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin scored the first two touchdowns of his NFL career against the Titans, and in doing so he became the youngest player to score an offensive touchdown in an NFL game since 1950.

He isn’t even 21 years old yet and he’s already showing that he can be a great change-of-pace back for Hall.

Remember, Hall is just two years removed from tearing his ACL. The Jets are certainly going to give him a healthy workload. But giving Allen the nine touches he received on Sunday seems like a perfect number to allow him to make an impact.

WR Mike Williams

The Jets may be ready to take the training wheels off the veteran receiver, whom they’ve ramped up slowly since his ACL tear last year with the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Jets signed him in the offseason to be an outside receiver and a compliment to their returning star Garrett Wilson. Williams didn’t make a catch against San Francisco, but he caught his first pass of the year against Tennessee.

More importantly, his playing time went up from just a handful of plays against the 49ers to 36 plays against the Titans.

He may be one or two more games away from a breakout, but he’s getting closer to becoming a relied upon part of this offense.

LT Tyron Smith

There’s a reason The Jets are giving Smith a day off each week as a way of minimizing the likelihood of him to get hurt again. Jets fans saw it last week against Tennessee, as Smith gave quarterback Aaron Rodgers terrific blindside protection throughout the contest.

The entire offensive line has been great in pass protection for two weeks. But, by signing the All-Pro and potential future Hall-of-Fame tackle, the Jets invested in the best possible protector for quarterback Aaron Rodgers they could find.

If that means giving Smith a day off every week to manage his physical ailments, which have kept him from playing a full season since 2015, then so be it. He is that important.

QB Jacoby Brissett

The Patriots are taking a somewhat unique approach with the development of young quarterback Drake Maye. Coach Jerod Mayo said that Maye is getting roughly 30% of the first-team snaps during the week, which is a highly unusual way to divide snaps in the regular season.

Brissett is playing on borrowed time, but then everyone knew that. The 31-year-old is in his ninth NFL season and his second stint with New England. He’s placeholder, but he can be effective. He’s thrown for 270 yards and a touchdown in two games, while rushing for another 38 yards.

How much longer he remains the starter will be based on his play and where the Patriots stand in the playoff race. Right now, his job is to keep the offense moving and avoid turnovers.

RB Rhamondre Stevenson

The Patriots are leaning hard on the run game as a way of maximizing the effectiveness of their passing game.

No one has carried a bigger load than Stevenson, who has already logged 46 carries in two games. He’s rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He’s only averaging 4.4 yards per carry, so his backfield mate, Antonio Gibson, is the bigger play threat.

But Stevenson is the player the Patriots will turn to if they need to move the chains. And given that they possessed the ball nearly 35 minutes per game, they’re good at moving the chains

TE Hunter Henry

Covering Hunter is going to be a vital piece of the puzzle for the Jets defense on Thursday. The Patriots have only completed 30 passes this season. Henry has caught 10 of them, and he’s been targeted 15 of the 47 pass attempts.

He’s already racked up 127 yards passing and has one big play. He’s New England’s best red zone threat even though he hasn’t scored yet. The Patriots don’t have a productive vertical threat, so maintaining coverage underneath with Jets linebackers like Jamien Sherwood will be key.