The New York Jets and the New England Patriots have one of the better rivalries in the NFL, especially considering the fact that the Patriots have been so good year after year and the Jets have been so bad year after year (save for the three seasons they advanced fairly deep into the postseason). Add to it that former Jets shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis now plays for the Patriots. There’s no love lost between these two franchises and it’s not going to be any different Thursday night. Here’s a preview of the AFC East division matchup:

Heavy Rain Will Affect Both Offenses

The Weather Channel is predicting heavy rain all night in Foxboro on Thursday night. Obviously this will have a major impact on the game. The Jets’ offense, particularly their quarterback play, has been so bad this season you probably won’t see a drop off in production for them in the rain. What the rain will do is force the Jets to run the ball more and take the ball out of the hands of Geno Smith.

The rain won’t have the same impact on the Patriots however. Their offense has been much more effective in the pass game as of late. Tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Timothy Wright are really starting to come around in the pass game. With the rain it will be much more difficult to have success through the air.

Will Patriots’ Run Game Be Effective Without Stevan Ridley?

This past Sunday the Patriots lost their best running back in Stevan Ridley for the season. Ridley tore his ACL and MCL against the Buffalo Bills. Ridley was the back the Patriots used more for running the ball while Shane Vereen was used on passing plays. With Ridley out, Vereen will now be asked to carry the ball more. Of all weeks for Vereen’s carries to increase, this week he’ll be facing the NFL’s best defense against the run. The Jets’ defensive line might be the best line in football and it is hard to run against them. However, in the past two weeks the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos have been able to have some success on the ground against the Jets. I think having Vereen take all the carries in the pouring rain and against this defensive line, the Patriots will miss Ridley very much this week.

Patriots’ Offensive Line Must Protect Tom Brady

In heavy rain it is certainly hard to pass the ball, but it’s not impossible. If the Patriots want to have any success passing the ball, they’ll need to protect quarterback Tom Brady. With Ridley being out it’s more important for them to establish some semblance of a passing game so the Jets can’t stack the box on every single play. According to PFF (subscription), the Patriots’ offensive line has the worst pass block rating in the NFL. The offensive line has allowed ten sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and 29 quarterback hurries. They’ll need to bring their next blocking to the next level Thursday night or the Patriots will have no chance of any success through the air in the heavy rain.

This is going to be a low scoring football game because of the rain and that always favors the worse team. While the weather favors the Jets, I don’t think it’ll be enough. The Patriots are still a much better team overall and they’re playing at home. I think the Patriots win this game by 10 points and really start to try putting this division away as early as possible.