Originally, the New England Patriots likely thought their Week 8 matchup against the New York Jets was one they could chalk up as a win. But the events that unfolded in their Week 7 loss to drop them to 3-4 on the season plus the Jets' 5-2 start makes Sunday a far more intriguing matchup than anyone thought it would be.

Here are four predictions for Sunday's game.

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4. Mac Jones performs well

Jones' sophomore season has been nothing but a disappointment, throwing just two touchdowns to five interceptions in his first three starts of the season. After missing three games due to an ankle injury, Jones was humiliated on Monday night, playing just three drives and completed only three of his six passes with an interception.

That wasn't the worst of it, though. Jones got booed by his own Patriots fans and heard them chanting for his backup to replace him, which happened after his third drive.

To make matters even weirder, Jones didn't receive the best vote of confidence from Bill Belichick when he was named a starter this week.

Yet, through all of that, I think the second-year quarterback will have a good showing on Sunday against the Jets.

Jones is under pressure to hold his job moving forward. He knows that and the rest of the Patriots' offense knows it as they appeared to show sympathy and support toward the young quarterback in the aftermath of Monday's game.

What do people do when they're under pressure? They try not to make mistakes. I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots scaled down the aggressive approach that they've had this season with Jones at quarterback, especially against Sauce Gardner and without center David Andrews.

If they do that, not only would that allow Jones to throw fewer interception-worthy balls, but it would also place him in an offense that he's more familiar with and one he thrived in last season. New England's shown it has the personnel to have success running a fair amount of play-action passes with Bailey Zappe this season and Jones last season when they ranked second in scoring drives. They found ways to integrate DeVante Parker as a middle-of-the-field receiver in recent weeks while Jakobi Meyers looks comfortable in his usual role as a security blanket.

The ingredients are there for Jones to perform well. It's just a matter of whether or not he and the coaching staff can utilize them properly, and I think they will.

3. The Patriots' ground game fails to get going

While I think Jones will have a solid outing himself, I don't expect the same for the Patriots' ground game.

New England's backfield has had trouble in recent weeks two of the league's worst rushing defenses. Against the Cleveland Browns, they ran for just 98 yards on 29 carries. Rhamondre Stevenson had just 76 yards on 19 carries, with 31 of them coming on play. Against the Chicago Bears, Stevenson and Damien Harris combined for just 47 yards on 14 carries.

Of course, Harris missed the Browns game and might have been limited in some capacity against the Bears due to his recent hamstring injury. But their to success on Sunday isn't easy. They're going against a Jets defense that's been stout against the run in recent weeks. Melvin Gordon and Latavius Murray combined for just 57 yards on 19 carries against New York last week. A week prior, Aaron Jones rushed for just 19 yards on nine carries while A.J. Dillon ran for only 41 yards in the game.

Pair that in with Andrews' absence and Isaiah Wynn's possible absence and the Patriots don't have the right ingredients in place for a good ground day against the Jets. Maybe with Harris more healthy than he was in recent weeks, the Patriots will run the ball a bit better. But I wouldn't expect a huge day on the ground.

2. New England's defense holds up better than it did against Chicago

Make no secret about it, the Patriots' defense was torched by the Bears. They gave up 243 rushing yards, allowed the Bears to convert on 11-of-18 third-down attempts, and gave up seven scoring drives.

Nowhere to go but up, right? Right.

The Jets were dealt a pair of brutal blows in their win over the Denver Broncos, losing their top playmaker this season in running back Breece Hall and super versatile offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker both for the season due to injuries. Michael Carter should do find Hall's place for the remainder of the season, and the newly acquired James Robinson should help at some point.

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But the injuries give the Patriots a golden opportunity to take advantage of a vulnerable team. They must either get out to a big enough lead early or force the Jets to pass more than they've liked to so far this season. Zach Wilson hasn't thrown much in the last three weeks, averaging roughly 22 pass attempts per game.

If the Patriots can get Wilson to throw, which they might be able with the Jets' hampered ground game, they'll be in a situation to feast. Their secondary has surprisingly been one of the best in football with Jonathan Jones thriving in his new role as an outside corner and fourth-round rookie Jack Jones playing like the steal of the draft.

That's before mentioning Matthew Judon. The league's leading sack-getter will have a favorable matchup with Vera-Tucker out, potentially giving him more chances to add to his lead in sacks.

1. The Patriots win decisively

The Patriots must win this game. They're facing the possibility of going back to two games below .500 as the season reaches the halfway mark. Mac Jones knows he must play well in order to help keep his starting job moving forward.

It really feels like the season might be on the line for the Patriots on Sunday, and they're going to lose to the Jets? The team they haven't lost to since 2015? Who Bill Belichick seems to go all out for and with the opportunity to move into sole possession of the No. 2 spot in all-time wins against a head coach?

There's a reason why the Patriots are still favorited to win this game even with their lesser record and with the game being on the road. Give me the Patriots to win by 10 as they inject some hope to a team and fanbase that needs it entering the second half of the season.