Jets vs. Patriots 2014 picks and predictions: New England a unanimous favorite

If the experts are correct, we could be in store for yet another blowout on Thursday Night Football this week with the New England Patriots (4-2) hosting the New York Jets (1-5). The teams are heading in opposite directions -- the Patriots are back atop the AFC East after convincing wins against the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills in the last two weeks, while the Jets are the division's cellar dwellars and mired in a five-game losing streak.

The Patriots and Tom Brady have silenced their critics with those back-to-back victories after being left for dead following a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 that dropped them to 2-2 on the season. The offense has regained its swagger in the last two weeks, piling up a league-high 80 points and 901 yards of total offense. However, they'll have to navigate the rest of their schedule without two key players on both sides of the ball, as leading rusher Stevan Ridley and defensive captain Jerod Mayo both suffered season-ending injuries in the Week 6 win.

The Jets are a desperate team and in complete disarray heading into this game at Gillette Stadium. They have dropped five straight games, their longest losing streak under coach Rex Ryan, who admitted after last Sunday's loss that he had reached the low point of his six-year tenure with the team. The Jets just placed top cornerback Dee Milliner on injured reserve and are extremely thin in the secondary, a bad sign for a team that is about to face the future Hall of Famer Brady. If the Jets are going to upset the Patriots, they'll need better play from their 30th-ranked red zone defense and more production from an offense that is averaging the fewest yards per play in the league.