[Tommy]

The New England Patriots have already wrapped up their third straight AFC East title. But they say they are treating the Monday Night contest at the 3-11 New York Jets as a regular game that they need to win.

"We're treating this like a regular week," Coach Bill Belichick said. "Put it in the headline. Bold type. It's a regular week. The players know that, the staff knows it."

So the Jets can expect to see plenty of quarterback Tom Brady, running back Corey Dillon and linebacker Tedy Bruschi. Last season, the Patriots won the division with three games left and Belichick stuck with his starters. This year the Patriots are all but locked into the fourth seed in the playoffs with their 9-5 record but have an outside chance at moving up to third.

Belichick doesn't want to lose any momentum since the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots appear to be peaking at the right time. The Patriots have won a season-high three straight games, allowing just 10 points during that span. New England's winning streak started with a 16-3 victory over the Jets on December 4. The Patriots held the Jets to just 12 first downs and 164 total yards.

They came off the Jets win to win at Buffalo 35-7 and followed that up with a 28-0 home win over Tampa Bay. The Pats have actually won five-of-six with their last loss coming November 27 in Kansas City by a 26-16 count.

The Patriots are looking to sweep the Jets for the third straight season and beat them for the seventh time in the last eight meetings. Last year the Pats won at home early in the season 13-7 as a six-point choice. They then finished the regular season with a 23-7 win at the Jets in a Pick Em spot.

Last week, Brady completed 20-of-31 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns and the Patriots sacked Chris Simms seven times in a dominating 28-0 victory over Tampa Bay.

A two-time Super Bowl MVP, Brady is 112 passing yards shy of 4,000 for the season. Expected to challenge the Patriots in the divison, the Jets have been ravaged by injuries and are in last place. Jets coach Herman Edwards is down to third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger after losing starter Chad Pennington and backup Jay Fiedler to injuries in Week Three.

The Jets have also lost running back Curtis Martin, center Kevin Mawae, right tackle Jason Fabini, tight end Chris Baker, wide receiver Wayne Chrebet and outside linebacker Eric Barton to season-ending injuries. Bollinger threw for a career-high 327 yards and two touchdowns in last Sunday's 24-20 loss at Miami.

All three of the Jets win this year came at home. Their last win came two weeks ago at home versus Oakland. They beat the Raiders 26-10. It is their only win in their last nine games.

They are 3-6 ATS in that stretch. Early in the year the Jets beat Miami at home 17-7 and Tampa Bay at home 14-12. The Jets are 3-3 in the host role and 4-2 ATS.

The Jets appeared on Monday Night Football earlier this season when they lost in Atlanta 27-14 as an 8.5-point underdog. The Jets have been on MNF 11 times since 1997, going 7-4 straight-up and 6-4-1 ATS. At home on Monday Night the Jets are 4-2 straight-up and 2-3-1 ATS.

New England has been on Monday Night Football 15 times since 1997, including this year when they lost at home to the Colts 41-20 as a 4.5-point dog. The Pats are 6-9 on MNF and 7-7-1 ATS. On the Monday Night road they are 3-5 straight-up and 5-3 ATS.

New England is now favored by seven points in this contest with a total of 37.5 But remember, before you get down on this contest, don’t miss out on the Experts Guaranteed Selections. At Vegas Experts you only pay after you WIN!