Fansided

Each NFL team’s most important game in 2019

By Russell S. Baxter

Chicago Bears outside linebackers Khalil Mack (52) and Leonard Floyd (94) sack Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) on December 16, 2018, at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)
Chicago Bears outside linebackers Khalil Mack (52) and Leonard Floyd (94) sack Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) on December 16, 2018, at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images) /
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FOXBOROUGH, MA – DECEMBER 30: New England Patriots defense pressures New York Jets Sam Darnold during fourth quarter NFL action at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Dec. 30, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA – DECEMBER 30: New England Patriots defense pressures New York Jets Sam Darnold during fourth quarter NFL action at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Dec. 30, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

New York Jets: Week 7 vs. New England Patriots

It’s been a long stretch for the New York Jets since the franchise’s last postseason appearance. And it’s somewhat hard to believe that this was a team that reached back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 2009 and ‘10. Since then, the club has managed one winning campaign (10-6 in 2015) and owns a combined 50-78 win loss mark the past eight seasons dating back to 2011. Following that double-digit victory campaign in ’15, the Jets own a dismal 14-34 record in their last 48 contests.

So enter former Miami Dolphins’ head coach Adam Gase, who guided that club to the playoffs in his first season on the job in 2016 but has struggled since. His team did get off to a 3-0 start a year ago but dropped nine of its final 13 contests. Now he takes over the Green and White with three year of experience in the AFC East. The Jets also spent some money to bolster their roster this offseason, landing coveted free agents in running back Le’Veon Bell and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley.

So can Gase lead this club from the basement to a division title? That would be a tall order considering that the New England Patriots have grabbed the top spot in the AFC East each of the past 10 seasons. Meanwhile, New York hasn’t finished first in this division since 2002.

Speaking of the Pats, the Jets will face Bill Belichick’s team twice in the first seven weeks of 2019. And it’s worth noting that Gase has knocked off New England each of the past two years while in command of the ‘Fins.

Next: Oakland Raiders

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