Week 11 of the 2025 NFL season starts off with a Thursday night matchup between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots. Thursday night has produced plenty of tricky games, especially when they’re between division rivals.
The Patriots are on a crazy run right now. After starting the season 1-2, they’ve gone on a seven-game winning streak. This comes in no small part from second-year quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye, along with first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, has turned the Patriots from a rebuilding mess to a Super Bowl contender. The 23-year-old QB has completed 205/286 passes for 2,555 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also carries a 71.7 completion percentage, ranked only behind Jared Goff.
New England currently has the NFL’s top-ranked rushing defense, allowing only 79.2 rush yards per game and three touchdowns. They’ve held Bijan Robinson to 46 yards and James Cook to 49 yards.
The Pats will have their work cut out for them, as the Jets currently average 141.8 rush yards per game, fourth in the NFL. New York’s offense doesn’t do many things well, but running the rock is an exception.
The Patriots’ passing defense ranks 21st in the NFL, allowing 227 yards per game. The pass-rush is the defense’s weakest point, ranking 14th with 22 sacks. This is a great chance for the Jets’ QB, Justin Fields, to show his mobility.
The Jets are currently 2-7 on the year, and recently traded away defensive stars Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. Their season seems to be lost in Aaron Glenn’s first year as head coach, and they’re looking at a proper rebuild in 2026.
New York’s offense currently ranks dead last in passing yards per game, averaging only 143.8. Their star wide receiver, Garrett Wilson, is out for several weeks with a knee injury, which will hinder the passing game.
The Jets currently hold the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. It’s extremely likely they’ll target a quarterback, and winning games will only hurt their draft stock.
No NFL team wants to lose intentionally, so the Jets will come out fighting, but this is an extremely tough matchup for them.
The Patriots’ rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson had a breakout game last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He rushed 14 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
New England is once again without wide receiver Kayshon Boutte for Thursday night. In his Week 10 absence, Mack Hollins had six receptions for 106 yards, while Kyle Williams hauled in one of his two targets for a 72-yard touchdown.
The Jets’ running back Breece Hall was vocal in his desire to be traded at the deadline. New York did not make the move, and he saw 21 carries for 83 yards last week against the Cleveland Browns. He also caught a 42-yard pass for a touchdown.
Without Wilson in the lineup, New York will look to Adonai Mitchell, Isaiah Williams, and tight end Mason Taylor in the pass game.
While divisional games are tough to predict, it’s hard to imagine the 8-2 Patriots will lose to a non-competitive rival team. The Pats are 12.5-point favorites on FanDuel SportsBook. That’s a tough spread to take in a game like this, but it’s certainly likely to hit.
Thursday Night Football has produced some great matchups and some stinkers. This game has the potential to be surprisingly competitive, but it shouldn’t be.
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