The New England Patriots enter Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season with a 1-6 record at the bottom of the NFL standings.

The Patriots have lost six straight games for the first time since 1993. And if that wasn’t bad enough, head coach Jerod Mayo called the team “soft” in his press conference after Sunday’s 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

Next up on the Patriots’ schedule is a matchup with the rival New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. These teams last met in Week 3 when the Jets won 24-3 at MetLife Stadium. The game was never close. But since then, the Jets have lost four straight games, including an ugly 37-15 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7. The Jets offense, led by veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, hasn’t scored more than 20 points in a game since beating the Patriots.

The Patriots will be underdogs this weekend, but the Jets are not unbeatable by any means. What do the Patriots need to accomplish Sunday to potentially pull off an upset?

Here are Brian Hoyer’s keys to a Week 8 victory for the Patriots, as seen during Wednesday’s edition of The Gameplan.

1. Establish the run game

The Patriots need to run the football a lot better if they’re going to be successful offensively, especially against a top-tier Jets defense. Drake Maye has played well over his first two starts, but forcing a rookie quarterback to shoulder most of the burden on offense because you can’t run the football is not a winning strategy.

“I would say at this point it’s about execution. You have to go out there and execute play after play,” Hoyer said. “I do think getting the running game going opens up some things so you’re not putting everything on Drake Maye’s right arm. Allow him to get into a rhythm like they did on that first drive (in Week 7).”

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The Patriots ran for 82 yards (3.5 per carry) against the Houston Texans in Week 6. They couldn’t find any success in the ground game versus the Jaguars, tallying just 38 yards (2.5 per carry). Maye was the team’s leading rusher (38 yards) against the Texans and tied running back Rhamondre Stevenson for the lead (18 yards) versus the Texans.

The Patriots rushing attack did OK against the Jets in Week 3, averaging 5.2 yards per carry (78 total). The problem was they quickly fell behind 14-3 by halftime and couldn’t stick with the ground game. A successful rushing attack early in Sunday’s game could open up some good play-action pass opportunities for Maye in the second half.

2. Convert third downs

The Patriots offense is not staying on the field long enough, which is putting a lot of pressure on the defense to play a lot of minutes and potentially get tired late in the game.

Converting third downs is a must for the Patriots if they want any chance of beating the Jets. The Patriots went 2-of-11 on third down against the Jets during the first meeting in Week 3. It’s hard to get into any kind of rhythm when the offense keeps stalling after failed third downs.

“Convert some of those third downs and keep yourself on the field,” Hoyer said. “That will allow you to have opportunities to score more points.”

The Patriots are converting on 33.6 percent of their third downs this season, which ranks 26th out of 32 teams.

There’s been some improvement on third down recently, though. After going a lackluster 3-for-13 on third down versus the Texans in Week 6, the Patriots did much better against the Jaguars with a 6-for-12 third down conversion rate in Week 7. Can they make even more progress in this area Sunday? The Jets rank 12th in third-down defense, allowing opponents to be successful on 34.1 percent of those situations.