Here are 10 matchups worth keeping an eye on in Sunday’s Patriots-Jets game:

WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL

Rob Gronkowski against the Jets pass defense: Whether it’s been the defensive style or offensive game plan, Gronkowski has always struggled against the Jets. In two regular-season games last year, he was limited to one catch in each game. He had four catches for 65 yards in the playoff loss, and had four catches for 31 yards in the first game this season between the two teams, his second lowest output of the season. Look for the Jets to try and get as physical as they can with Gronkowski in hopes of slowing him down.

Wes Welker against Darrelle Revis, Round 2: If it wasn’t for a 73-yard connection between Tom Brady and Welker, this would have been all Revis. The two went head-to-head for 42 plays in man coverage in the first Patriots-Jets game of the year, and Welker had just two catches on three targets for 77 yards. (He ended up with five catches for 126 yards in New England’s 30-21 win.) Revis certainly wasn’t tipping his hand as to what the Jets will do this time around, although it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the two locked up in man coverage for most of the game again.

BenJarvus Green Ellis against the Jets run defense: The Jets decided to try and stop the pass the last time around, leaving themselves vulnerable against the run and allowing Green-Ellis to rush for a career-high 136 yards in the win. Many of Green-Ellis’ yards were tough, meaningful yards down the stretch in New England’s four-minute offense as the Patriots ground the Jets down throughout the fourth quarter. Two questions surround this matchup: One, is he over the bad toe that has dogged him in recent weeks? And two, will the Jets run extra defensive backs out there again (as they did in the first game) in hopes of stopping the Patriots’ passing game? If New York is in nickel or dome coverage (and Green-Ellis is back to or near 100 percent), look for another big dose of the New England running game.

Sebastian Vollmer against Jamaal Westerman: Westerman did a terrific job in the first game, picking up a pair of sacks and helping the Jets set the tone up front. But those two takedowns came at the expense of rookie right tackle Nate Solder, who started in place of Vollmer. Now, it appears Vollmer has returned from his back injury -- it remains to be seen how effective he can be, as he’s struggled the last two weeks -- and will likely draw the assignment of trying to slow down New York’s pass-rushing linebacker.

WHEN THE JETS HAVE THE BALL

Vince Wilfork against Nick Mangold: Two classic warriors who always bring out the best in each other. The New York center rushed back from a high ankle sprain for the first meeting of the season between the two teams, and helped bring some stability to a banged-up Jets offensive line. (The Jets are averaging 123 rushing yards per game since Mangold returned.) Since then, Mangold and the rest of the New York line have started to play better, and will pose another big challenge for a partially remade Patriots defensive line (out is Albert Haynesworth, and in are youngsters Kyle Love and Ron Brace) led by Wilfork, who leads all Patriots’ defensive linemen in tackles through eight games with 39 (19 solo).

The Patriots run defense against Shonn Greene: The Jets have run the ball effectively as of late, and Greene has been a big reason why, piling up 188 yards in the last two games. But do the Jets want to try and bring the ground and pound to Sunday’s game? After all, the Patriots struggle to stop the pass, but are fairly stout against the run. If they do decide to try and beat New England on the ground, it’ll be with a heavy dose of Greene.

Patrick Chung against Dustin Keller: The Patriots did a nice job stopping tight ends over the course of the first six games of the season, but Pittsburgh’s Heath Miller and the Giants' Jake Ballard were absolute killers over the last two weeks of the season, with Miller roasting New England early and Ballard getting them late. Now, New England is faced with the prospect of slowing down Keller. They did a good job the first game (one catch for seven yards), but Keller remains a viable threat for Mark Sanchez in the passing game, as he leads the Jets with 29 catches and 436 yards. It will be interesting to see how he’s deployed Sunday night against the Patriots. (The last time Keller faced the Patriots in New Jersey, he had seven catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.)

Kyle Arrington against Plaxico Burress: Burress didn’t do much the first time the Patriots met the Jets, finishing with three catches for 42 yards. Since then, Burress has started to come on with a combined nine catches for 104 yards and three touchdowns over the last two weeks. When New England is in man coverage, look for them to counter the long and lanky Burress with its most physical (and best, frankly) corner, Arrington. The Hofstra product is tied for tops in the league with five picks (including an impressive one last week in the end zone against Eli Manning) and leads the Patriots with seven passes defensed. One thing to look for -- Burress was used as a big red-zone threat two weeks ago against the Chargers, and if the Jets are in a jump-ball situation on the goal-line, look for Sanchez to target Burress.

Devin McCourty against Santonio Holmes: Another opportunity for McCourty to turn his season around comes this week against Holmes, who has 25 catches for 340 yards (second on the Jets behind Keller) and four touchdowns.

Andre Carter against D’Brickashaw Ferguson: Carter has been New England’s most consistent pass rusher over the course of the first half of the season -- he leads the team in quarterback hits with eight, and is tied with Mark Anderson for the team lead in sacks with 4.5. (He’s on pace for nine sacks, which would be the most for a New England defender since Tully Banta-Cain had 10 sacks in 2009. He’ll try and keep that intensity up when he faces Ferguson this week. Ferguson is second on the team in quarterback sacks allowed (three) and pressures yielded (seven). If the Patriots can generate consistent pressure on Sanchez, chances are good they’ll be able to rattle him. As our pals at Pro Football Focus note, when Sanchez is pressured he only completes 44.7 percent of his passes (fourth worst in the league). The Jets offensive line has given up 59 combined sacks, hits and hurries for a pass blocking efficiency of 90.5 (fourth best in the league).