3 questions the NY Jets must answer against the Patriots: Revenge on the Mind

The NY Jets face off against the New England Patriots in what should make for an intense divisional matchup. Plenty of bulletin board material has already been brought up from Jets coaches and players in regard to how the Patriots ran up the score last season.

The Jets have gone into a number of games this season with added motivation, showing that the coaching staff has been pushing the right buttons so far.

Against Miami, Tyreek Hill's comments lit a fire under the players, when they went to Green Bay, they focused on how the Packers chose to play the Jets overtaking a bye week. Now against the Patriots, the focus shifts to last year's results.

The culmination of revenge, the team's current four-game winning streak, and needing to bounce back from a few devastating injuries last week makes this a pivotal game for the Jets season, which now has elevated expectations after their 5-2 start.

1. What will Zach Wilson be able to do against Bill Belichick's defense?

The polarizing takes about Zach Wilson have increased every week since his return from injury. After leading the team to victory against Pittsburgh and playing a solid game against Miami, his play has regressed a bit.

While he is not making the same type of mistakes as last year, Wilson is getting by just enough to keep his team in the game instead of being the reason why the Jets are winning.

With that being said, they still are winning so it's hard to complain too much about what's going on. Wilson clearly needs to improve as he has not been able to get past his first read on a lot of plays and when things break down he will often times panic under pressure.

The dominant run game, defense, and special teams over the past few weeks have masked the need to see a big jump for the second-year quarterback. That may change starting this week.

Wilson will likely need to step up and make some big plays, going beyond mistake-free football for the team to get victories over defenses like New England and Buffalo. He had trouble in his opening matchup against New England, as many young players do against Belicheck.

The Patriots are top-10 in defensive DVOA thus far and will likely make things difficult for Wilson knowing that he has underperformed facing pressure this season.

Wilson will have to show that he can continue to protect the football while expanding his abilities a bit more by making the easy throws that have been missed the past few weeks and taking some deep shots which have been lacking.

While one game does not define a season or a player, it feels like the boiling point is rising for how fans are evaluating Zach Wilson. A divisional game at home against a team that the Jets should beat could be a fork in the road for the Jets quarterback.