Friends face off Monday as sputtering Jets head to Arizona

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The New York Jets travel across the country in something of a funk, as their coach Todd Bowles returns to familiar turf.

His longtime friend and former boss, Arizona coach Bruce Arians, has problems of his own.

The Cardinals (2-3) were ballyhooed as a surefire contender, but have already lost as many games as they did all of last season.

They’re coming off a 33-21 victory over San Francisco, though, and quarterback Carson Palmer returns after sitting out the 49ers game with a concussion.

The Jets (1-4) are having a tough time against a schedule that opened with four of their first five foes having participated in the playoffs last season.

New York lost the first three of those matchups, most recently a 31-13 beating at Pittsburgh.

Bowles was a popular defensive coordinator with the Cardinals for two seasons before getting the job with the Jets.

“The only other guy I’ve been around that had the amount of respect that his defensive guys have for him is with Mike Zimmer,” Palmer said, referring to the coach of unbeaten Minnesota, who was defensive co-ordinator in Cincinnati when Palmer was with the Bengals.

It’s also a homecoming for New York quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who grew up in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert.

Arians and Bowles, whose relationship spans three decades, aren’t the only good buddies on opposite sides of the field. Palmer calls Fitzpatrick “a great friend.”

Their relationship stems from their two seasons as teammates in Cincinnati in 2007 and 2008.

“Whenever I’m not playing against him, I’m rooting for him so hard,” Fitzpatrick said, “because of just the way that he approaches everything and the way that he lives his life on and off the field. I think he’s one of the more impressive guys I’ve ever met in my life.”

After an alarming stretch in which he threw nine interceptions in two games, Fitzpatrick got through the game against the Steelers without getting picked off. It was his best performance since Week 2, when he threw for 374 yards and a touchdown in 37-31 victory at Buffalo.

He still leads the NFL with 10 interceptions, though, two more than Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston.

This is New York’s first trip to Arizona since 2004.