Things to Watch at Tonight's Patriots-Jets Game

The Patriots are reeling after one of the rare back-to-back defeats in the Brady/Belichick era.

Things don't get any easier tonight, as the Pats face off against a rejuvenated Jets team in New York on Sunday Night Football.

Here are things to watch at tonight's game:

Will Tom Brady end his slump? Brady was downright bad in the Giants game (until the fourth quarter, at least). He was off-target with many of his throws, leading to incompletions and interceptions.

While some of this is due to the talent of the Giants D, one cannot deny that Brady was not his usual self.

He was bailed out of several errant throws by Wes Welker, who has a talent for catching anything in his general area. Chad Ochocinco has drawn some fire for his lack of production, but Brady was off on a toss to 85 in the end zone and — given Brady's problems hitting receivers all game — it's hard to place the blame entirely on him.

If this team is going anywhere, it's by virtue of Brady's arm. His recent struggles do not bolster confidence in the team.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis must replicate his production from the Jets game last month. Green-Ellis had a largely invisible 52-yard game against the Giants. The team cannot allow him to disappear this week.

The Jets, as of late, have been daring the Pats to run the ball. The Patriots caught on, and had Lawfirm bulldoze his way to 136 yards and two touchdowns. They consequently found themselves the victors of a 30-21 ballgame.

While the Jets are unlikely to use the same game plan again, New England must keep New York's defense honest. If the Pats revert to throwing on every down, the Jets will hit Brady into submission.

The defense must play a 60-minute game. For 45 minutes of the Giants game, the Patriots defense looked masterful. They confused Eli Manning. They got the key turnover when it was needed (Arrington's end zone pick when it looked as if the Giants would put the game out of reach).

Unfortunately, games are 60 minutes long.

While the first three quarters were encouraging, the D's utter collapse in the final 1:36 was a microcosm of their problems this year. They gave up easy completions. They were unable to pressure the quarterback. They surrendered costly penalties. They lost a game that they could have won.

This team cannot play as badly as they have on defense, pure and simple.

Will the Jets go to the pass this time? The Jets' offensive gameplan last time around was baffling — they went run-first against the worst pass defense in the league. If Jets Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has a brain in his head, he'll pass the ball more this time around.

That's the troubling thing about this game — the Jets are perfectly suited to abuse this Pats team. They have big receivers (Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress) who can easily abuse the Patriots corners. They have a resurgent running game.

The problem with the Jets offense is at quarterback — Mark Sanchez struggles with accuracy and decision-making. If the Pats can somehow summon up a pass rush, they can take advantage of Sanchez's deficiencies. If the corners can stay with their receivers, they could force Sanchez to hold the ball, possibly leading to a strip-sack. If the linebackers can cover Dustin Keller and LaDainian Tomlinson, they'll keep Sanchez from dumping off easy short passes. If, if, if.

The bottom line is, the Patriots will have to completely reverse the trends of the last few games to have any hope for a victory.

The Patriots-Jets game will be televised on NBC at 8:15pm.