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The AFC East is turning into a runaway, and today, we are going to be taking a look at the battle on the NFL odds on Thanksgiving Day evening that could make things a bit closer, or a heck of a lot further apart, as the New England Patriots visit the New York Jets.

Head Coach Bill Belichick is probably going to think twice before he leaves any of his starters out on the field at the end of a game that is long since over with. Last week in a brutal 59-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts, TE Rob Gronkowski suffered a broken forearm, and now, he might miss the rest of the regular season. Gronk has been a key cog in this offense over the course of the last few years, and he had two TDs in last week’s win before getting hurt. Now, with TE Aaron Hernandez very much so up in the air on a short week, QB Tom Brady might need to find some new targets. The end result is going to be more action for WR Wes Welker and WR Julian Edelman, both of which are used to doing the heavy lifting on the inside in the slot. The Pats enter this one with the top rated offense in the league at 431.9 yards per game, and the squad also leads the NFL in scoring at 35.8 points per game.

The Jets saved their season last week with a relatively dominating win over the St. Louis Rams, and though they are still a dysfunctional bunch for sure, they can still get into the playoffs in the weakening AFC. Both the Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers lost last week, and the opportunity is there to not just cut the lead in the AFC East to two games, but to cut the deficit in the Wild Card chase perhaps down to just one depending upon what happens on Sunday. Still, this is a team that is just wildly inconsistent. The Jets still rank just 30th in the league in total yards at 301.3 per game, and they are still 30th against opposing rushers, allowing 141.7 yards per game. QB Tim Tebow has run 36 offensive plays that have either resulted in his pass or run, and he has just one play for more than nine yards. Last week, he had four plays on the field that ended in -6 yards. Remember that with the Jets, there is just one man, WR Jeremy Kerley, that has more than 21 receptions on the year.

Prediction

For whatever reason, the Jets generally play the Patriots tough, and they might be able to do so again. We do think that New England wins this one in a close tussle when push comes to shove, but we do want the points on our side, as we have confidence that OC Tony Sparano is going to pull something out of his bag of tricks to try pull a fast one on the Mad Scientist and the gang. New England 31 – New York 27