Sunday afternoon, the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady will take the field at Gillette Stadium to face the rival New York Jets on CBS at 12 p.m. ET. This is a critical game for Brady and his team considering that they need to distract from the Antonio Brown storyline while reaching 3-0 on the season. The stage is set, but when will this drama take place?
As an expected blowout, this Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon-called game will be shown primarily to those in the northeastern market. CBS affiliates in New York, Albany, New England, and South Florida will be airing this AFC East battle.
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Patriots fans around the country will have to rely on NFL Sunday Ticket or the RedZone channel to get glimpses of the Patriots and Brady.
Tom Brady is here with a 1/2 tuck/no-tuck vibe. #Patriots#trendsetter pic.twitter.com/0DyykPDKtt
— The Camera Guys (@NBCSCameraGuys) September 22, 2019
Of course, the biggest storyline surrounding New England will be the recent departure of wide receiver Antonio Brown. In his first – and only – start with the Patriots, the former Steelers star showed off chemistry with Brady and caught a touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone.
However, Brown was released on Friday morning amid ongoing allegations of sexual assault, as well as reports that he had texted what had been described as intimidating messages to one of his accusers. Instead of continuing to answer questions about Brown during press conferences, head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots opted to send the 31-year-old packing.
Obviously, losing Brown won’t spell doom for the Patriots offense. This is a group that still features Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, and Phillip Dorsett as the starting trio of pass-catchers. In week one against the Steelers, this Patriots offense put up 33 points and proved to be extremely effective while Brown watched the game from the luxury box.
Another storyline that must be mentioned in anticipation of this game is that the Patriots defense has been among the best in the league through the first two games of the season. Even without a true defensive coordinator on staff, the Patriots have only allowed three points in 2019. This continues a stretch of dominance that dates back to Super Bowl LIII when they held the Los Angeles Rams out of the end zone.
The Patriots defense and offense are both performing far better than expectations, which makes it incredibly likely that the Jets will struggle mightily on Sunday afternoon.
