New England Patriots (12-3) @ New York Jets (3-12)
Sunday, December 28, 1:00 PM ET
The writing’s on the wall for this one, isn’t it?
It’s game like this that make it too bad we have a “word requirement” for each game. All kidding aside, the Patriots are the storyline here. After going 4-13 last year, Mike Vrabel has come in and turned the ship around significantly. And it takes a village, but the duo of Vrabel and Drake Maye has been one of the best stories in the NFL all season.
And the best part is, nobody can dunk on anyone for expecting it, because the Patriots breaking out this season was the most obvious offseason storyline in 2025.
It’s the way they’ve delivered that’s been impressive. They are on the cusp of now taking the AFC East from the Buffalo Bills, and they have to be thanking the schedule makers for the Jets game here in Week 17.
The Jets are starting Brady Cook, who nobody has even heard of unless you’re a die-hard Jets fan or a lifelong Missouri fan. Cook is the Jets’ third option at the position, and they just don’t have what it takes, even with the unpredictable nature of the NFL, to win a game like this with the Patriots playing the way they have this season.
Cook is going to have to cook or be cooked in this game, and I fear the worst for the Jets. Which is actually not a bad thing for them, because it will push them that much closer to potentially finding their next franchise QB in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Shoot, maybe they’ll finally get their first interception of the year, and it will come off of Maye. That would at least be something. The Patriots are favored by 12.5 and that’s going to be conservative.
Prediction: Patriots win 37-9