BARRY WILNER

AP Pro Football Writer

In the midst of their worst slide since Rex Ryan became coach, the last thing the New York Jets need is a trip to New England.

On a Thursday night.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has won 40 consecutive regular-season home games against AFC opponents and is 6-0 in Thursday night games. New England (4-2) has won its last two to grab sole possession of first place in the division.

Meanwhile, New York (1-5) has lost every game after opening with a win over Oakland.

The Patriots (No. 10 in AP Pro32) are 9 1/2-point favorites over the Jets (No. 29).

Ryan›s team gets its share of sacks despite an inconsistent pass rush, but its secondary is in shambles. The prime-time matchup comes just as Brady is warming up after a slow start.

«Facing him?» Ryan said, noting that the Jets lost to Peyton Manning and the Broncos last Sunday. «Back-to-back Hall of Fame guys; how many Hall of Famers are there playing a position in the league? I don›t know. But we have two in a row, first-ballot guys, obviously. So there is a huge challenge there. You know you›re going to face a guy that isn›t going to be surprised by a lot of things, again, but you have to put some kind of hesitation or some kind of doubt in him to maybe disrupt his rhythm a little bit.»

Brady has had some struggles against New York — he even lost a playoff home game to the Jets in January 2011. But he›s 18-5 against them in the regular season.

I think it doesn›t really matter what their record is coming into this game because they are a great rival,» Brady said. «We had a couple of bad weeks and have turned it around. They can turn it around just as easy.»

Not this week.

PATRIOTS, 33-13

Atlanta at Baltimore

Falcons didn’t look too good at home, and we know they are awful on road.

BEST BET: RAVENS, 30-17

Houston at Pittsburgh, Monday night

Rested Texans pull off a prime-time ...

UPSET SPECIAL: TEXANS, 20-17

San Francisco at Denver

Spiciest matchup of week. Manning will test Niners’ secondary.

BRONCOS, 30-27

Seattle at St. Louis

An ornery bunch of Seahawks not what Rams want to see.

SEAHAWKS, 23-10

Kansas City at San Diego

With Broncos up next in a short week, Chargers could get trapped here.

CHARGERS, 23-21

New York Giants at Dallas

Are Giants really that bad? Are Cowboys really that good?

COWBOYS, 28-22

Cleveland at Jacksonville

Look at this: Browns are favored on road. Then again, they’re facing Jaguars.

BROWNS, 30-16

Arizona at Oakland

Even these banged-up Cardinals have a bit too much for Raiders.

CARDINALS, 23-20

New Orleans at Detroit

Two teams impossible to trust. Go with hosts.

LIONS, 30-28

Miami at Chicago

Two more teams impossible to trust. Go with hosts again.

BEARS, 27-20

Cincinnati at Indianapolis

From elite team to mediocrity? Bengals headed in wrong direction.

COLTS, 26-21

Carolina at Green Bay

Aaron Rodgers’ magic touch lifted Packers last week. He could need it again.

PACKERS, 24-23

Tennessee at Washington

If Redskins are going to get off schneid, now is right time. Or maybe not.

TITANS, 23-20

Minnesota at Buffalo

Buffalo gets first win for new owners.

BILLS, 19-13