FOXBORO  –  The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and breezy temperatures in the upper 40s when the Jets and Patriots kick off their AFC East showdown at 4:15 at Gillette Stadium.

Clouds rolling in for late afternoon at Gillette.

Running back Fred Taylor is the only Patriot player ruled out for today’s contest, with 13 players listed as questionable. Taylor is missing his sixth straight game with an injured ankle.

For the second straight game, the Jets will be without linebacker Vernon Gholston, out with a hamstring injury while center Damien Woody was a late add to the injury list on Saturday with an illness. He is listed as questionable.

The Patriots lost to the Jets in Week 2 by a 16-9 count, the only game this season they have been held without a touchdown and the first time Tom Brady’s offense had been held out of the end zone since Dec. 2006.

The 6-3 Patriots come in with a two-game AFC East lead over the Jets and a 1 1/2 game lead on the Dolphins, who beat Carolina on Thursday night.

The Patriots are 2-1 in the division while the Jets come in 1-3 and in desperate need of a win to keep their faint division hopes alive.

The Patriots are 41-12 (.774) in regular season AFC East games since the start of the 2001 season, the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL over the last eight seasons.

Since the start of the 2003 season, the Patriots are a remarkable 20-1 in games following a regular season loss, including 2-0 this year. The only back-to-back regular season losses came on Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, 2006, when they dropped games to the Colts and Jets, both at Gillette.