FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots know what the Baltimore Ravens’ defense is likely to do against them: many of the same things the New York Jets did just two weeks ago.

The Jets held the Patriots to three field goals with an aggressive style that Rex Ryan brought to New York as head coach. But he left his mark on the defense in Baltimore, where he was coordinator the past four seasons.

“I think there’s some carry-over from a scheme standpoint,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “The biggest difference between the Jets and the Ravens is the players. You’re playing against a different set of players.”

But like the Jets, the Ravens (3-0) blitz a lot and disguise coverages. With linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed, Sunday’s opponent could be more talented than Ryan’s current defense.

“You see a lot of the things that we’ve seen in the past, but there are definitely some differences,” Patriots left tackle Matt Light said. “They’re going to attack you with everything that they have. They’re going to come at you. They’re going to blitz you quite a bit.”

By the Jets’ count, Tom Brady was pressured or hit 23 times in their 16-9 win. But he’s been sacked just once this year.

It helped that the Patriots (2-1) had a balanced offense for the first time in last Sunday’s 26-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons, when Fred Taylor rushed for 105 yards.

The ground game will be important again to slow down the pass rush. It also could help an offense that might be missing wide receiver Wes Welker for the third straight game with a knee injury that limited his practice time for the Ravens.

“He’s led the league in receptions over the course of the last two years,” Brady said. “Anytime you substitute anybody in for him, it’s tough. There’s only one Wes Welker.”

Baltimore, long known for its stifling defense, has improved offensively with two running threats, Ray Rice with 192 yards rushing, and Willis McGahee with 190 and six touchdowns, one as a receiver.

Second-year quarterback Joe Flacco has improved from a rookie season in which the Ravens reached the AFC championship game. He threw for a career-high 342 yards in last Sunday’s 34-3 win over Cleveland.

“He sees things better. He’s quicker with the ball versus pressure,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “He has a better understanding of how it all ties together with the protection and the routes. He knows how to get guys lined up. I mean, there are a thousand things that Joe does better than he did a year ago.”

Just as the Ravens play a similar defense after losing Ryan, the Patriots’ defense remains solid despite the departure of five starters to trades or retirement; a knee injury to linebacker Jerod Mayo that could keep him out until midseason; and an ankle injury to nose tackle Vince Wilfork that could sideline him Sunday.

“Their defense is a bunch of new guys,” Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason said. “You take a lot of guys like (Mike) Vrabel and (Rodney) Harrison, and some other guys that were there for a long time, you take them out and put new guys in, obviously, they’ve got to mesh.

“They’re doing an exceptional job at playing the type of defense that they play.”

The Patriots’ defense hasn’t given up more than 276 yards in any game and has allowed a total of four touchdowns. But the Ravens haven’t scored fewer than 31 points in any of their games and are averaging 430.3 yards.

Stopping them would be tougher without 2007 Pro Bowl player Wilfork clogging the middle.

“Somebody has to step up,” Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. “I don’t know that there have been many games when you can say, ‘We have everybody this week and we’re ready to go.’ ”

The Ravens may be unbeaten but know just three games is a poor measuring stick, especially with wins over winless Kansas City and Cleveland.

“You can’t read too much into it,” Baltimore defensive end Trevor Pryce said. “It’s only three games. I wish I could say something poetic or some pithy dialogue with you all, but it’s 3-0. It’s not a lot.”

New England’s offense improved last Sunday but struggled in the red zone where it settled for four field goals. Still, that was much better than against the Jets and Ryan’s defense that gave up just 299 yards.

Linebacker Bart Scott and safety Jim Leonhard both start for that defense after playing for the Ravens last year.

Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs, who started with Scott the past four years, said he had no plans to contact his former teammate before the game.

“I’m not going to talk to Bart this week because they already have the victory,” Suggs said. “We need to get ours.”

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