Patriots at Jets: Matchup to Watch

Patriots (5-3) at Jets (5-3), 8:20 p.m. Eastern, NBC

Matchup to Watch: Mark Sanchez vs. Patriots’ defense

A major beneficiary of the Jets’ improved rushing offense has been Sanchez, who is passing less but succeeding more. During the last four games, his completion rate was 60.7 percent and he had seven touchdown passes, with two interceptions. For the Jets to win on Sunday, they do not need Sanchez — nor will they ask him — to shred the Patriots’ dreadful pass defense, as did the victorious quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning. They just need him to play efficiently, which is what he has done over their three-game winning streak.

Number to Watch: 152
That is how many rushing yards the Patriots totaled Oct. 9, taking advantage of the Jets’ extra defensive backs inserted to protect against the pass. “They ran the ball more effectively than obviously we wanted them to or even expected them to,” Coach Rex Ryan said. Still wary of Tom Brady, the Jets are likely to use a similar strategy, when they will see just how much their emphasis on alignment, assignment and technique has paid off.

Quotation of the Week

‘It’s one of those deals where they know that we know that we know that they know that we know.’

Coach BILL BELICHICK of the Patriots, when asked about the challenges of preparing for a team they played five weeks earlier.