By Tony Catalina, NEFJ Correspondent

Kickoff: Coming off the heels of a tough loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, the Patriots are going to want to get that bad taste out of their mouth as they head to East Rutherford, NJ to take on their division rival New York Jets.

All indications are that Mac Jones looks to be penciled in as the starter, but much like last week, with this coaching staff everything is a fluid situation.

The last meeting between these two teams was last October. The Patriots dismantled the Jets 54-13 at home. The Patriots beat the Jets 26-10 last season at MetLife Stadium.

Here are our four keys for today.

1st Down: Get Mac Jones in rhythm: The best way for this Patriots team to get back on track is to help Jones get into a rhythm early. Let him hit some easy throws out of the gate to get the offense going and allow him to get comfortable. This isn’t the Jets of old, but they certainly are a beatable football team. If Jones plays well and the Patriots can run the football to balance things up, they will be fine.

2nd Down: Put the game in Zach Wilson’s hands: There is no question that Wilson has the arm talent and he can make plays with him arm and his legs. With Breece Hall sustaining a season ending knee injury last week against the Broncos, the focal point of the Jets offense will now be their passing game. The Jets will throw the ball more and try to be more balanced offensively. The Patriots have to control the line of scrimmage and get the Jets into long down situations. If they do that, they could get more consistent pressure on Wilson and force him into making mistakes.

3rd Down: Pass protection needs to be clean: Reports out of New England are that Mac Jones is still dealing with toe numbness and although he is playing, he may not be the picture of health right now. The offensive line will need to play a clean football game to keep Jones up right and the offense on schedule. Like most things in football, it is easy to point to the trenches and say that games are won and lost there. This week is no different. The offensive line needs to play well if the Patriots are to have any shot this week.

4th Down: Limit the chunk plays on defense: What killed the Patriots last week against the Bears was their inability to get stops when they needed them. Whether it was a big third down conversion or a run with Justin Fields legs, the Patriots just had a tough time getting the Bears off the field. This defense has the ability to play at a high level but they will need to improve on getting off the field more consistently this week to pull out a win.

Extra Point: This matchup all time is pretty one sided. The Patriots own the series with a commanding 71-54-1 record and will look to get their 72 win in the Meadowlands.

Final Drive: Historically speaking this is the type of game a Bill Belichick led team steps up and stops the bleeding. This is not a typical Jets team the Patriots are accustomed to facing so it will come with challenges, but this game has the feeling of being a “look in the mirror” game for the Pats. They will want to look at themselves and see what kind of team they are and a win this week will go a long way in figuring that out.