Storyline: The Patriots will host the New York Jets on Christmas Eve at Gillette Stadium. With a win, the Patriots would lock up the number one overall seed in the AFC.

The Patriots were in the same spot at this time a year ago but season ending losses to the Jets and Dolphins cost them the number one seed in the conference. The Patriots cannot allow that to happen this season so they have to take care of business in this one and lock up home field throughout the playoffs. 

Here are five keys for the Patriots in this game.

1. Jump On Them Early: The Patriots have to be aggressive in all three phases of this game and jump on the Jets early. Put the pressure on them right out of the gate by scoring first. 

2. Get Michael Floyd Reps: Bill Belichick has had to listen to the local morality police question the signing of Michael Floyd for the past week. 

The Patriots need to rep Floyd and see how he’ll fit into the offense. He should get 20-30 snaps in this game. Floyd can help the Patriots but they need to get him involved in the next two games.

3. Blitz Pick-Up: The Jets are just as aggressive now as they were under Rex Ryan. They will bring a lot of inside pressure against Tom Brady in an effort to throw him off his spot.

The offensive line struggled at times last week against Denver’s inside pressure. They must play better this week against the blitz happy Jets. 

4. Butler vs. Marshall II: Brandon Marshall has become a non-factor in the Jets offense thanks in large part to bad quarterback play. Marshall however is still one the best receivers in the league and he can make plays with the ball in his hands.

Look for Malcolm Butler to match up against Marshall once again and try to take away the Jets primary target in the game. 

5. Get Marty More Involved: The Patriots are going to need Martellus Bennett to be more of a factor offensively moving forward. These last two games are a good opportunity to target Bennett and get him some touches. Look for Bennett to be a factor in this game tomorrow, especially in the red zone. 

Prediction: Patriots 35 Jets 14: The Jets are a train wreck right now and with head coach Todd Bowles in the hospital and not with the team, their focus will be on him, not this game.

With all due respect to Bowles, even if he was there tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter. The Patriots would still win this game running away. They are the better team. They’ll win big tomorrow and lock up the number one seed.