Short week for Patriots, Jets won't impact rivalry

Keith Nordstrom/Patriots.com

The Patriots and Jets square off at Gillette Stadium in just two days, a quick turnaround for both teams. This will be the first meeting of the season between the heated rivals, and no matter how much time the teams are given to prepare for one another, both sides will be fired up and ready to play.

Per Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com.

“I think records go out the window when you play these guys,”€ special teams captain Matthew Slater said. “Everything goes out the window when you play these guys and you don’€™t have a problem getting up for them because of the history that is there. We will be ready as well.”

Divisional match ups are usually always difficult games no matter what the team's records are. The Patriots are coming off two straight impressive wins against Cincinnati and Buffalo, and sit at 4-2. The Jets, however, are in a completely different situation at 1-5, their playoff hopes hanging by the smallest of threads.

By virtue of the Jets record, it would seem the Patriots might catch a bit of a break this week. That's not the case. The Jets, like the Bill and Bengals, boast a legitimate front line that can cause fits for Tom Brady and the offense if he can't get rid of the ball quickly.

Moreover, despite the fact that New York was taken down by the Broncos this past Sunday, they played Denver pretty tough most of the way. The Jets are not someone the Patriots should take lightly, and they won't.

No matter the records of the two teams, this is one of my favorite rivalries in all of sports and the games are always a lot of fun to watch. There will be no shortage of fireworks on Thursday night.

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