Why Mark Sanchez Will Struggle Against New England's Defense

Entering this game, you could say that it's a favorable matchup for both Mark Sanchez and the New England Patriots. 

From Sanchez's prospective: New England's defense is ranked dead last in the NFL for average yards allowed per-game. And from the other end of the spectrum: You could say that Sanchez's five interceptions, and his recent 30.5 quarterback rating against the Baltimore Ravens could be exactly what New England's struggling defensive unit needs. 

What do I think? I see Bill Belichick developing a game plan that will force Sanchez to beat the Patriots, similar to the game plan used against Jason Campbell and the Oakland Raiders in Week 4. 

Let me tell you why: Sanchez's career regular numbers against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium are pitiful—in fact they're putrid. Sanchez has completed 46.3 percent of his passes for 300 yards while throwing one touchdown and being intercepted an embarrassing seven times. 

In those two games, Sanchez faced a much different defense than the one that he will be facing this Sunday afternoon. 

Granted, New England's defense is 32nd in the NFL, but this is a different cast of characters with a whole new chemistry and a "bend-not-break" kind of style. 

So far this season, the Patriots have faced off against Chad Henne, Philip Rivers, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jason Campbell—three out of those four are in the top 13 in quarterback ratings. Also, the Patriots have had to deal with some solid running games, with all four of teams being in the top 10, with the Raiders being ranked No. 1. 

So where I am going with this? Well, the Patriots have had their fair share of difficult offenses to contain and have done a decent job, considering that they're 3-1 on the young season.

Coming into Sunday, Sanchez ranks 28th in quarterback rating, with New York's rushing attack ranking 30th—definitely some favorable statistics for New England. 

Do I think that the Patriots will easily hand the Jets their third-straight loss of the season? No. 

But do I believe that if the Jets do lose Sunday, that it will be mostly Mark Sanchez's fault? Yes, absolutely. 

With Sanchez having played two career regular season games against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, he's thrown seven interceptions—so am I that far off predicting that Sanchez, who's thrown an interception in every game this season, will be picked off at least twice this week? Absolutely not. 

New England's defense should have a field day against Sanchez, despite losing Jerod Mayo for four to six weeks with a MCL sprain, but could be receiving some much needed help from Albert Haynesworth.

Speaking of Haynesworth, if he suits up and plays against the Jets this weekend, he should be a dominant presence. The Jets are without their starting Nick Mangold, who suffered a high ankle sprain a few weeks back and is the team's best offensive linemen. If Haynesworth comes into Sunday's game healthy and well-rested, he should cause havoc on the line of scrimmage all day long. 

With all the factors that I have presented, I confidently can sit here and predict that Sanchez will have yet another awful day throwing the ball against New England this Sunday. 

New England's defense may be below average, but it's much better than Sanchez's pitiful passing attack. 

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