{"id":21130,"date":"2018-12-29T07:30:42","date_gmt":"2018-12-29T12:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=21130"},"modified":"2018-12-29T07:15:53","modified_gmt":"2018-12-29T12:15:53","slug":"players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/","title":{"rendered":"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

P<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Chance For Tune-Up Before Postseason<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> close out the regular season just where they began it, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro where they take on the Jets at 1:00 p.m. with a chance to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Patriots win guarantees them a ticket straight to the divisional round and while they still have a chance at the #1 seed, that would require both the Chargers lose on the road in Denver and for Chiefs to lose at home against the Raiders, which while not impossible,  are pretty remote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jets come in at 4-11 and it is probably the last game for Todd Bowles as their head coach. But a bright spot has been the play of QB Sam Darnold, who has turned it on since coming back from an injury the past three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday we posted our keys to the game <\/a>and key matchups where we broke down the game positionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, from a Patriots perspective, here are our Players to Watch on Sunday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Brady:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Normally this would be kind of low-hanging fruit but with the passing game uncharacteristically scuffling late in the season and questions persisting that Brady is playing with a hurt knee, this late-season game puts some of the focus directly on #12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week Brady had season lows in attempts, mainly because the running game was tooling up the Bills defense for 275 yards until a couple of kneel-downs at the end. At one point they ran the ball ten straight times. But with a ground game gashing the Bills as such, one would think the play-action passing game would have been wide open. But it was not and on top of that, the pass protection wasn\u2019t as good as we\u2019ve come to expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jets have the 26th rated run defense and the 26th rated pass defense, however, they are #2 in 3rd down defense in 2018, so there is that to consider. And Brady has been bailing out of some of his throws, which has led to the injury questions. We\u2019ll be watching pass distribution, movement in the pocket and to see if they can generate any kind of passing game this week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trey Flowers:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots best defensive lineman may be playing in his last regular season game as a Patriot on Sunday. Flowers is a free agent and will no doubt draw plenty of interest around the league, however, right here and now, the problem is getting pressure on Darnold without overcommitting and allowing scrambling lanes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jets offensive line has been doing a much better job of protecting Sam Darnold lately and the Patriots will be trying to get some pressure on him and trying to force some mistakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll see how the team does overall at getting after Darnold tomorrow, but they\u2019ll look to Flowers, who does a lot of things very well to lead the way there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sony Michel:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots rookie running back still has an outside shot at rushing for 1000 yards but would need another big game against the Jets this week. Michel has 881 yards rushing in 12 games this season and would need 119 tomorrow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of personal accomplishments, Michel is the key cog in the Patriots offense right now. With the passing game struggling, the Patriots have leaned on the running game to get things going and that is primarily on Michel\u2019s shoulders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Jets run defense hasn\u2019t been great, they know the Patriots are going to try to run the ball, so they\u2019ll be trying to do what the Patriots normally do, make their opponent one-dimensional and it will be up to Michel to ignite the ground game.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.C. Jackson:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots have found another gem in the UDFA market with Jackson. He has come on in the second half of the season and playing some very impressive football at corner for the Pats. The tall (6\u20191) rookie from Maryland has been steadily improving during the season and has impressed his teammates and coaches, starting the past four games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Belichick was asked about his ascension this week and was praising Jackson\u2019s work ethic. \u201cJust steady grinder, one day at a time, just trying to get better,\u201d Belichick said. \u201cIf he makes mistakes, he\u2019ll try to correct it. He works at it, usually shows some improvement in that area, go on to something else. But, his durability, his consistency and just being out there every day practicing, doing things, getting corrected, getting better, working on them the next day. I mean, that\u2019s really how you improve. So, practicing and being durable and being consistent, it goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposing QBs are completing just 43 percent of the passes they attempt in his direction and their passer ratings when targeting Jackson is just 31.3 which is tops in the league at his position. With both Quincy Enunwa and Jermaine Kearse out for the game, covering the Jets top WR Robby Anderson will fall to Stephon Gilmore. Jackson may draw speedy return man Andre Roberts, UDFA Deontay Burnett or STs player Charone Peake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Hogan: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Patriots wide receiver was initially looked at as one of the guys who would take up the slack once Josh Gordon was gone. However, last week while playing more than 60 snaps on offense, Hogan wasn\u2019t targeted once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hogan hasn\u2019t caught more than two passes in a game for more than two months. He\u2019s suffering thru the biggest freeze out \u201csince the big man joined the band\u201d and it doesn\u2019t show any signs of easing. The Patriots need to get everyone left involved in the passing game. That includes Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, James White, Cordarrelle Patterson, Rex Burkhead, Phillip Dorset as well as Hogan. Once the playoffs start, targeting only one or two of those players isn\u2019t going to get it done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll be watching Hogan this week, who has been getting open, but will the QB and offensive coordinator? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow me on Twitter <\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a> or email me at <\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a>Listen to our <\/em>Patriots 4<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em> and 2<\/em><\/a> podcasts on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from <\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a> discuss the latest Patriots news.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regardless of personal accomplishments, Sony Michel is the key cog in the Patriots offense right now. It will be up to him to ignite the running game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":20575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1826,1198,1519,11,274,10],"tags":[34,599,78,1783,17,44,47,1776,1354,251,13,35],"class_list":["post-21130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2018-patriots-regular-season","category-nfl-commentary","category-nfl-news","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-film-room","category-patriots-news","tag-bill-belichick","tag-chris-hogan","tag-james-white","tag-jc-jackson","tag-julian-edelman","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-york-jets","tag-sony-michel","tag-stephon-gilmore","tag-todd-bowles","tag-tom-brady","tag-trey-flowers"],"yoast_head":"\nPlayers To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Regardless of personal accomplishments, Sony Michel is the key cog in the Patriots offense right now. It will be up to him to ignite the running game.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-\ufeff\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ? | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Regardless of personal accomplishments, Sony Michel is the key cog in the Patriots offense right now. It will be up to him to ignite the running game.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-\ufeff\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-29T12:30:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg?fit=1800%2C1234&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1234\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SteveB7SFG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@patsfans\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\"},\"headline\":\"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-29T12:30:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1051,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bill Belichick\",\"Chris Hogan\",\"James White\",\"JC Jackson\",\"Julian Edelman\",\"New England Patriots\",\"New York Jets\",\"Sony Michel\",\"Stephon Gilmore\",\"Todd Bowles\",\"Tom Brady\",\"Trey Flowers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"2018 Patriots Regular Season\",\"NFL Commentary\",\"NFL News\",\"Patriots Commentary\",\"Patriots Film Room\",\"Patriots News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/\",\"name\":\"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-29T12:30:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"Regardless of personal accomplishments, Sony Michel is the key cog in the Patriots offense right now. It will be up to him to ignite the running game.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg\",\"width\":1800,\"height\":1234,\"caption\":\"Stew Milne - USA TODAY Sports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/29\\\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2018 Patriots Regular Season\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/2018-patriots-regular-season\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"description\":\"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"PatsFans.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/patsfans\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@patsfans.official\"],\"foundingDate\":\"2000-06-17\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\",\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steve Balestrieri\"},\"description\":\"A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/steve.balestrieri\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/SteveB7SFG\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/sbalestrieri\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?","description":"Regardless of personal accomplishments, Sony Michel is the key cog in the Patriots offense right now. It will be up to him to ignite the running game.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-\ufeff\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ? | PatsFans.com","og_description":"Regardless of personal accomplishments, Sony Michel is the key cog in the Patriots offense right now. It will be up to him to ignite the running game.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-\ufeff\/","og_site_name":"PatsFans.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","article_published_time":"2018-12-29T12:30:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1800,"height":1234,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg?fit=1800%2C1234&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Balestrieri","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SteveB7SFG","twitter_site":"@patsfans","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/"},"author":{"name":"Steve Balestrieri","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da"},"headline":"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?","datePublished":"2018-12-29T12:30:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/"},"wordCount":1051,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg","keywords":["Bill Belichick","Chris Hogan","James White","JC Jackson","Julian Edelman","New England Patriots","New York Jets","Sony Michel","Stephon Gilmore","Todd Bowles","Tom Brady","Trey Flowers"],"articleSection":["2018 Patriots Regular Season","NFL Commentary","NFL News","Patriots Commentary","Patriots Film Room","Patriots News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/","name":"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-29T12:30:42+00:00","description":"Regardless of personal accomplishments, Sony Michel is the key cog in the Patriots offense right now. It will be up to him to ignite the running game.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg","width":1800,"height":1234,"caption":"Stew Milne - USA TODAY Sports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2018\/12\/29\/players-to-watch-patriots-jets-week-17-%ef%bb%bf\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"2018 Patriots Regular Season","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/category\/2018-patriots-regular-season\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Players To Watch Patriots-Jets Week 17 ?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","name":"PatsFans.com","description":"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization","name":"PatsFans.com","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"PatsFans.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","https:\/\/x.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/patsfans\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@patsfans.official"],"foundingDate":"2000-06-17"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da","name":"Steve Balestrieri","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Steve Balestrieri"},"description":"A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","https:\/\/x.com\/SteveB7SFG"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/author\/sbalestrieri\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-Week-13-Tom-Brady-dpHBM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21130"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21131,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21130\/revisions\/21131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}