NFL Football
2026-10-18 - New York Jets at New England Patriots
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NFL Week 6
Sunday 18th October 2026 - Scheduled 1pm EST
6pm (British Time)
Preview
The New York Jets (2-3) earned a win over the Cleveland Browns, but they are going to have a tough time competing in the AFC East which has a couple of teams expecting to be Super Bowl contenders.
One of those is the New England Patriots (3-2) who are looking for a third win in a row as they sit a game behind the Buffalo Bills.
The home team will be looking to use the Offensive Line to establish the run and ease some of the pressure on Quarter Back Drake Maye who has been questioned after some early struggles. No one will argue with the 8 Touchdown passes thrown, but Drake Maye has 7 Interceptions and there are big expectations around a New England team that reached the Super Bowl last season.
Drake Maye has been better in leading the Patriots to back to back wins, while throwing 7 Touchdown passes with a single Interception, and that kind of level will help New England establish the run as teams begin to respect the level shown by the Quarter Back.
Running the ball against the Jets Defensive Line is not easy, but the Patriots will feel they can at least keep the Quarter Back in third and manageable spots and that is the key to this game. If they can do that, Drake Maye should be in a position where he can keep the chains moving and especially if AJ Brown is able to suit up for New England.
Playing from in front of the chains is key for the Patriots to slow the New York pass rush and making sure Drake Maye is throwing without feeling the pocket collapsing around him. The Jets Secondary have played well, which will offer encouragement to the road team, but the Patriots have found a good rhythm over the last two games and that should see them have more Offensive successes.
Confidence will also be taken from the way the Patriots Defensive unit have been playing all season.
The Jets have been able to stay competitive thanks to their performances on the other side of the ball, but the Offensive unit have been struggling and they are not expected to have anything easy in Week 6 of the NFL season. Those problems all begin up front and the Jets Offensive Line are going to have a tough time establishing the run with any kind of consistency, which in turn puts more pressure on Geno Smith at Quarter Back.
Geno Smith has 6 Touchdown passes without throwing an Interception this season, but he has not been pushing the boat out when it comes to making plays with his arm. That is underlined by the fact that Smith has only just surpassed the 1000 yard mark in the passing game, and it is going to be a tough day in the office for Smith to produce more in Foxboro.
One of the issues is that the Offensive Line have broken down when it comes to pass protection, while Geno Smith is going to be facing a New England Secondary that had been a huge part of the run to the Super Bowl last season.
They have come out with a similar level in 2026 and New England will feel they can make enough plays through in the Secondary to slow down this passing attack.
Last season the Patriots had two very strong wins over the New York Jets and they can produce another as long as they do not overlook a Divisional rival to Thursday Night Football when New England travel to Soldier Field. Divisional games are very important and that should see a focused effort from the Patriots, which leads to a strong win on the day.
Prediction
Lay the points with the home favourite in this AFC East Divisional game.
The Pick :
New England Patriots 28-17 New York Jets
