Favre, Jets face must-win situation vs. Patriots

When the New York Jets acquired veterans Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace and Brett Favre in the offseason, their message was clear: They aren't building for the future, they are trying to win now.

Well, now they must.

Seldom in recent years has there been a more important or more urgent game for the Jets than Thursday's date with New England. When I met with CBS broadcaster Ian Eagle on Wednesday morning, he described the contest as "a defining moment" for Gang Green, and he couldn't be more accurate.

The Jets must win.

They didn't invest a gazillion bucks in free agents and re-signings to finish second to spend another year watching New England in the playoffs. They spent that money because they believed they could close the gap and maybe, just maybe, make a run at the top.

Here is their chance.

I know, I know, New England owns them. And, yeah, there is that little matter of Bill Belichick wanting to cream these guys after Spygate and Deion Branch and whatever else you want to throw into the cauldron with him and Eric Mangini.

But there never will be a better time to catch the Patriots, and I'm not just talking about the absence of All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady. How about a backfield that is down to somebody named BenJarvus Green-Ellis? Or a secondary that is operating without leader Rodney Harrison? Or a group of linebackers that just subtracted Adalius Thomas, a guy who can play almost any position?

There has never been a better time for the Jets to take down the Patriots. (Getty Images)

These aren't the Patriots that won all 16 regular-season games last year. They lost their most important part in the first game of the year and were forced to push on without him. So far, so good, but they haven't faced an opponent this desperate to make a statement -- and, yes, I include that first meeting with the Jets.

That was the second game of the season, and let's be honest: Both teams were adjusting to new quarterbacks. New England would rely on its defense to pull through without Brady, while the Jets would rely on Favre -- just as they did in the season opener. Only they weren't all that comfortable with him at that point, nor he with them -- and I offer their third offensive series as evidence.

The Jets were facing first-and-goal at the New England 3, and three times gave the ball to running back Thomas Jones. More to the point, three times they took the ball out of Favre's hands and relied on someone else -- in this case, Jones -- to get in the end zone.

I'm sorry, but that is not why the New York Jets acquired Favre.

This is a future Hall of Famer, for crying out loud, and he staked a career on producing touchdowns. The Jets didn't deal for him so he could hand off to Jones -- they acquired him to make big throws, and when you're inside the 5, you put the ball in the hands of your best playmakers.