Welcome to the Monday Night Showdown Slate for NFL Week 9!

As if 2020 hasn’t been bad enough it hand’s us a Week 9 Monday Night Football matchup between the 2-5 New England Patriots and the 0-8 New York Jets.

Neither team has been worth watching for the majority of this season with the Cam Newton intrigue quickly dissipating as he looks more and more washed up. Newton on the season has just two touchdowns with seven interceptions when throwing the football. His QB Rating sits had a paltry 73.2 on the year. He is however the Patriots leading rusher with 298 yards and six scores…which is all you really need to know about the Patriots ground attack. As for the rest of the running back stable, well, Damien Harris has two 100-yard games, including last week against Buffalo but he is questionable with an ankle injury. Sony Michel was recently activated off of IR and could make his return if Harris sits out. After Harris we are left with James White and Rex Burkhead . Both have had their moments but neither reliable. The Patriots receiving group is largely non-existent. Julian Edelman is on IR and N’Keal Harry is going to miss this game with a concussion. In recent weeks Jakobi Meyers has established himself as the top target in the passing attack with Damiere Byrd also contributing. Ahead of the trade deadline the Patriots added Isaiah Ford from Miami but he will not be active.

For the Jets, Sam Darnold is unlikely to play which means Joe Flacco will be under center. The winless Jets have few things to be excited about. At the running back position there has been some decent things from rookie La’Mical Perine but head coach Adam Gase continues to run Frank Gore as well. Both backs will have a nice matchup against one of the leagues worst run defenses. At receiver, Jamison Crowder is questionable to play which would be a big loss. If Crowder sits, look at rookie Denzel Mims, Breshad Perriman and Braxton Berrios to lead the way.

Before we start, please allow me to reiterate that while we all love having a little skin in the game, these showdown slates are basically lottery tickets. Sure, there are times when the chalk hits and everyone shares in the prizes, but more often than not, you need that random, differentiate yourself from the herd dart-throw to hit in order to claim that top prize. As a result, we encourage to play responsibly. Stick to the GPP contests (single-entry preferred), don’t blow your whole bankroll and understand that, unless you are a max-entry player, you should prioritize having fun.

OK, lecture over. Let’s get to tonight’s action.

 

New England Patriots vs New York Jets

Spread: Patriots -9.5

O/U: 41.5

Weather: 65 degrees, clear skies, 3 MPH winds, 5% chance of precipitation.

Notable Injuries:

Patriots:

Stephon Gilmore – knee (Out)

N’Keal Harry – concussion (Out)

Damien Harris – ankle (questionable)

Nick Folk - back (questionable) 

Jets:

Sam Darnold – shoulder (doubtful)

Jamison Crowder – groin (questionable)

Sam Ficken -  groin (doubtful)

 

Defensive Rankings (Using DVOA):

Patriots:

vs Pass: 19th 

vs Run: 30th

Jets:

vs Pass: 31st

vs Run: 10th

 

Please note the players listed below are in order of preference. If a player is not listed that does not mean they are a full fade for your lineups.

MVP/Captain

Jakobi Meyers, WR NE – Yes, this is really what it has come to. Meyers has seen 16 targets over the last two weeks as the Patriots top receiving option since the injuries to N’Keal Harry and Julian Edelman . The Jets have the 31st ranked pass defense per DVOA and while Newton has NOT looked good throwing the football this season, he does own a 66-percent completion percentage which isn’t awful. There are not many points expected to be scored in this one and New England’s best bet to score could come through the air so let’s target their top receiver.

La’Mical Perine/Frank Gore , RB NYJ – Choose your own adventure. The Patriots run defense has been absolute trash and last week BOTH Zack Moss and Devin Singletary had solid games. This would be a great time for Adam Gase to utilize the rookie to build up some confidence in a soft matchup but I could also see him giving Gore 15 carries in this one for no reason other than because he hates us all. The Patriots run defense ranks 30th per DVOA and it honestly looks even worse when you watch them play.

Cam Newton , QB NE – Yes, he has not been good throwing the football but the Jets defense also tends to be the cure for most problems. He has the highest ceiling of anyone else in this game in my opinion given his ability to run the football. As I mentioned above, he already has six rushing touchdowns on the season. If he can find the end zone a few times here in this one then he will be worth the pay up.

Mid-Tier

Jamison Crowder /Braxton Berrios , NYJ WR – If Crowder is active I can make a case for him to be a top choice at the CPT/MVP slot. My one hesitation is that New England typically does a good job at shutting down your top option and JC Jackson is one of the leagues top slot corners. It’s very possible that Bill Belichick schemes his defense to take Crowder out of the picture. That said, he has at least 10 targets in every game he has played this season so the upside is definitely there. If Crowder ends up sitting out, I do like me some Braxton Berrios who will fill in at the slot position and has 18 targets over the last two weeks while Crowder has been out.

Damien Harris, RB NE – So, this one is another wild card as the Jets run defense is actually pretty good and Harris is banged up. There is an actual chance that the Patriots activate Sony Michel from IR before this game and Harris gets ruled out to heal his ailing ankle so make sure you are on the look out for that. The Patriots offense is built around the run and Harris already has two 100-yard rushing games this season. At least when healthy he has looked like the Patriots best running back.

Denzel Mims, WR NYJ – Mims has looked solid over his first two NFL games, catching 6-of-10 passes for an average of 42 yards per game. While he saw just three targets in Week 8 against the Chiefs, this could certainly be a game where he draws a favorable match up. It’s honestly slim pickings here.

Dart Throws

Sergio Castillo, K NYJ – Filling in for the injured Sam Ficken , Castillo went 3-for-4 in field goal attempts in Week 8 with a long off 55 yards. This game could very well come down to the kicking game given the low totals and therefore could lead to many field goal attempts here when the Jets offense eventually stalls out against the New England defense.

Patriots Defense – So, it hasn’t looked good in recent weeks but this is the Jets we are talking about here. Even without Stephon Gilmore the Patriots secondary still has some players that are capable of making plays.