Ryan L. Fox Sometimes the best thing that a football team needs to get back on the winning path is a beating what is known as a ‘tomato can’ opponent. Somebody that you can whoop on with no problem and they can’t fight back, even if they try. After getting embarrassed at home all season long, including choking away a loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week, everybody in Pats Nation lit up with joy as they saw that the New York Jets were coming to town. On a brisk Sunday in Foxborough, the New England Patriots hosted a midday matinee game against the JV football team known as the New York Jets. On the word ‘Go’, the Patriots unleashed hell and proceeded to lambast, embarrass, and utterly obliterate their opponent, something they could not do against previous quality opponents like the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys. While Pats fans gloated about the victory, many who actually watched it couldn’t help but roll their eyes at the fake win. Game Recap The Patriots opened up the game with the ball as KR/WR Gunner Olszewski brought the ball to the New England 35. The offense opened with a big play with RB Damien Harris ripping off a 12-yard run to the New England 47. A few plays later, QB Mac Jones found TE Jonnu Smith for a 28-yard pass down to the New York 25. On the ensuing play, the Patriots offense pulled out some trickery. Jones dropped back to pass before immediately tossing the ball to WR Kendrick Bourne, who then found WR Nelson Agholor in the end zone for the 25-yard touchdown. K Nick Folk booted the PAT through the uprights to make it 7-0 with 12:43 left in the first quarter. Following a Jets punt on their opening possession of the game, the Patriots got the ball back at their own 47. After a few rushing plays and incomplete pass to start the drive, Harris ripped off a 32-yard run on 2nd and 7 from the New York 39 down to the New York 7. Harris rushed the ball two more times, the last run being a 1-yard plunge into the end zone. Folk booted the PAT through the uprights to make it 14-0 with 7:21 left in the first quarter. With the game already slipping away, the Jets tried to respond. Jets QB Zach Wilson was able to get the offense down to the New England 28. But on 2nd and 5, WR Jamison Crowder got tackled back at the 30 for a 2-yard loss to move the Jets back. Then on the ensuing play, Wilson’s pass to WR Elijah Moore went incomplete to set up a 4th and 7 from the New England 30. K Matt Ammendola came on to attempt the 48-yard field goal try. The snap and hold were good but the kick ended up slicing right and no good. The Patriots responded with the Jets missed field goal with a 39-yard field goal by Folk to make it 17-0 in favor of the home team with a little over 14 minutes left in the second quarter. Jets KR/WR Braxton Berrios brought the ensuing kickoff back to the New York 31, giving his team decent starting field position. Wilson opened up the drive with a pass to WR Keelan Cole for 6-yards to the New York 37 and then followed that up with a 15-yard pass to TE Ryan Griffin a couple plays later to the New England 48. On 1st and 10 from the New England 48, Wilson dropped back to pass and was looking for Cole deep in the end zone. But he ended up getting grabbed in the end zone by Patriots S Kyle Dugger, drawing a 46-yard pass interference penalty, giving the Jets 1st and goal at the New England 2. But on the play, Wilson got knocked down by Patriots LB Matt Judon and landed awkwardly on his knee. On the same play, Patriots FS Devin McCourty went down with an abdomen injury as both players had to come out (and ultimately both were ruled out for the remainder of the game). In came in back up QB Mike White as on the first play from the 2, he handed the ball to RB Ty Johnson for a 1-yard gain to the New England 1. On the ensuing play, Johnson bowled his way left side for what was going to be a 1-yard touchdown run but, in typical Jet’s fashion, it was wiped out due to a false start on Griffin. On 2nd and goal from the New England 6, RB Michael Carter got the ball down to the New England 3. Facing a 3rd and goal from the New England 3, White rolled out and found WR Corey Davis in the left corner of the end zone for the touchdown. Ammendola booted the PAT through the uprights to make it 10:38 left in the second quarter. But whatever good feelings the Jets and their fans felt after getting their first points of the game was immediately wiped away on the following Patriots drive. Starting from their own 27, Mac Jones lead the offense on 14-play, 75 yard drive down the field against the Jets that ate up 5:10 off the clock. The drive was capped off with a short pass from Jones to RB Brandon Bolden, who rumbled 25-yards for the score. Folk booted the PAT through the uprights to make it 24-7 with 5:29 left in the second quarter. After returning the kickoff back to the New York 28, White lead the offense back out onto the field. They were able to successfully move the ball against the Patriots, including a 22-yard deep pass from White to Davis on 1st and 10 from the New York 41 down to the New England 37. The Jets got all the way down to the New England 28 before being faced with a 4th and 1. Rather than attempt a 45-yard field goal, the Jets decided to go for it by Johnson was stuffed up the middle for no gain and the ball was given back to the Patriots with under 2 minutes left in the first half. On the first play from the New England 28, Jones dumped a pass off to Bolden, who rumbled to the New York 44 for 28 yards. The Patriots got down to the New York 35 and were faced with 4th as 1 from there. Rather than kick a 50+ yard field goal (and wanting to stick it to the Jets), Bill Belichick elected to go for it as Jones found WR Jakobi Myers for a 3-yard pass to the New York 32 and a fresh set of downs. Jones dinked and dunked on his next few plays, getting the ball down to the New York 5. On 3rd and goal from the New York 5, Jones pass to Meyers fell incomplete but he was interfered with by LB Jamien Sherwood, giving the Patriots a first down at the New York 1. On 1st and goal from the New York 1, Jones found TE Hunter Henry into the end zone for the touchdown. Folk booted the PAT through the upright to make it 31-7 with under 30 seconds left in the half. The Jets tried to muster some sort of scoring drive with a little over 20 seconds left in the half. But an incompletion on first down and then a sack on second down ended the half. When the second half began, the Jets got the ball as Berrios brought it out of the end zone to the New York 23. The Jets offense came back onto the field as after an incomplete on first down, Carter carried the ball for 6-yards to the New York 29. White then found Davis for a 17-yard pass to the New York 46 and then followed that off with a catch-and-run to Johnson for 21 yards down to the New England 33. The Jets were able to move the ball all the way down to the New England 1 where on the first play in the Patriots red zone, the Jets pulled off a reverse as Moore ran right side all the way into the end zone to make it 31-13. The Jets elected to go for the 2-point conversion but Carter was stuffed, keeping the score at 31-13 with 11:38 left in the third quarter. The Patriots answered that Jets touchdown with a 50-yard field goal by Folk to make it 34-13 with 7:03 left in the third quarter. With the deficit reach over 20 points, the Jets got the ball back on their own 25-yard line. The offense was able to move the ball deep into New England territory but on 1st and 10 from the New England 35, White tried to find Griffin over the middle for a pass. Instead, he found Dugger at the 11, who then returned the ball back to the New England 25. But in a shocking turn of events, the Jets defense was able to hold up and force the Patriots to punt for the first time in the game. The Jets got the ball back at their own 25 but the drive ended in typical Jets misery as White’s pass to Moore was picked off by Patriots CB J.C. Jackson at the New York 43. The Patriots then proceeded to move the ball down the field with little resistance against the staggered Jets defense, capping the drive off with Harris bowling his way over behind the left guard for a 3-yard touchdown run. Folk booted the PAT through the uprights to make it 41-13 with a little under 13 and a half minutes in the fourth quarter. Following a turnover on downs by the Jets on their next possession, the Patriots got the ball on their own 47. After back-to-back rushing plays, Jones aired the ball out to Bourne deep left side all the way down to the New York 1. On the next play from scrimmage, RB J.J. Taylor bowled his way over the goalline for the touchdown to make it 47-13. Surprisingly enough, Folk actually shanked the ensuing PAT as the score remained 47-13 with 9:10 left in the game. After a Jets punt, the Patriots got the ball back on their own 22. But instead of letting Mac Jones going out, Belichick decided to finish the game with backup QB Brian Hoyer taking snaps. But instead of letting up and simply trying to run the clock out, the Patriots came out throwing. Hoyer had three passes of 20+ yards on the drive (22-yard pass to Olszewski, a 29-yard pass to FB Jakob Johnson, and a 28-yard pass to WR N’Keal Harry) on the drive, getting the offense down to the New York 1. On 1st and goal from there, Taylor bowled his way over the goalline for his second touchdown of the game. Folk booted the PAT through to make it 54-13 with 2:59 left in the game. The Jets made one last try to get a final score in to break the 20-point plateau and make the final outcome look somewhat respectable. Instead, Carter fumbled the ball on a pass from White as Patriots LB Josh Uche recovered the ball at the New England 47 for the final play before the two-minute warning. After the two-minute warning, the Patriots offense came back out onto the field with 2 minutes left in the game. In a surprise act of mercy, Belichick had Hoyer simply go into victory formation three consecutive times and kneel the ball to end the clock and give the Patriots their first home victory of the season* (*=even though it was against the Jets). Notable Patriots Players Statistical Standouts QB Mac Jones: 24-for-36 for 307 yards and 2 TDs for a QB rating of 111.7, 3 carries for 19 yards (6.3 yards per carry) RB Damien Harris: 14 carries for 106 yards (7.6 yards per carry) and 2 TDs; 2 catches (on 2 targets) for 7 yards RB Brandon Bolden: 2 carries for 0 yards (0 yards per carry); 6 catches (on 7 targets) for 79 yards and 1 TD RB J.J Taylor: 9 carries for 21 yards (2.3 yards per carry) and 2 TDs; 1 catch (on 1 target) for 5 yards WR Kendrick Bourne: 1-for-1 for 25 yards and 1 TD for a QB rating of 158.3; 4 catches (on 4 targets) for 68 yards K Nick Folk: 2-for-2 for Field Goals, 6-for-7 on PATS for a combined 12 points CB J.C. Jackson: 4 tackles (3 solo, 1 assist), 1 INT, and 1 pass defended CB Myles Bryant: 6 tackles (4 solo, 2 assists) and 1.0 sack CB Joejuan Williams: 1 tackle (1 solo, 0 assists) and 3 passes defended S Adrian Phillips: 6 tackles (5 solo, 1 assist) S Kyle Dugger: 9 tackles (7 solo, 2 assists), 1 interception, and 1 pass defended Numbers! Numbers! Numbers! .000 – The winning percentage of opposing rookie quarterbacks against the Patriots during the Belichick coaching era at Gillette Stadium (0-13) 100% - The red zone efficiency percentage (7-for-7) for the New England Patriots for the game (6 touchdowns, 1 field goal) 11 – The number of Patriots offensive players that had at least 1 catch for the entire game (the most all year) 314 – The total number of wins during Bill Belichick’s coaching career (including postseason) 54 – The number of points scored in a single game by the Patriots this year and the most points scored at home since Week 3 of the 2015 regular season (won 51-17 against the Jacksonville Jaguars at home) +7 – The turnover differential the Patriots against the Jets this season in 2 games (7 takeaways, 0 giveaways) 551 – The total yards on offense by the Patriots for the game, the most at home since Week 6 in the 2018 NFL Season (had 500 yards total offense in a 43-40 home victory against the Kansas City Chiefs) +60 – The combined point differential between the Patriots (79) and the Jets (19) in their two match-ups this season (2-0) -21- The combined point differential between the Patriots (100) and their other non-New York Jets opponents (121) this season (1-4) Did You Know That… - K Nick Folk’s 39-yard field goal in the early goings of the 2nd quarter was his 300th field goal in his career. He became the 35th NFL kicker in history to reach that milestone. - With Jets QB Mike White being sacked by Patriots DT Daniel Ekuale on the last play before halftime, it marked the 41st consecutive game that a Jets QB was sacked. That is currently the longest streak in the NFL. - The Patriots have won 12 straight games vs Jets since the start of the 2016 season, the longest win streak by either team in matchup history. During that span, the Patriots have outscored the (Jets by a combined score of 378-133. But the 12 consecutive victories against the Jets is only the second longest winning streak against a single opponent in Patriots franchise history (the Patriots have 15 consecutive victories over the Buffalo Bills from December 27, 2003 to December 26, 2010). - Although the Patriots had won today’s game, they are still sub-.500 at 3-4, marking the 2nd consecutive season where they had started below .500 through the first 7 seven weeks of an NFL season. - The Patriots are 133-8 (.943) when scoring 30+ points in the Belichick era (since 2000), the highest win percentage during that span. - The 54 points allowed by the New York Jets is the most points allowed in a single game by the team since Week 1 of the 1995 season where they lost to the Miami Dolphins on the road 52-14. My Two Cents Cent #1: Oh wow, pat yourself on the back Patriots fans. Your team dropped 54 points on the freaking New York Jets at home. Get the duck boats ready and set a date for that victory parade. where was this dominant performance against the Miami Dolphins? Or how about against the Saints in Week 3? Was the Week 4 match up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady just trying to throw the game away and lull them into a false sense of security? Or was the embarrassing performance on defense last week against the Cowboys Fake win for a fraud team. Cent #2: Dick move by Bill Belichick late in the fourth quarter by continuing to air the ball out against a defeated opponent. Dude, you’re up by 30+ points late in the 4th quarter against a team that can barely score without tripping over themselves in the process. Just run the clock out and at least let the Jets (and their fans) try to preserve whatever dignity they have left. But I guess that’s too much to ask for somebody who gets off on making a franchise that he screwed over back in 2000 as miserable as possible. Fox Fist Bump No Fox Fist Bump this week. How can a team that dropped against teams with records pat themselves on the back after whooping up on a dysfunctional franchise like the Jet? Where was this performance against a quality opponent with a record above .500? Fake win for a fraud team. The Meatball of the Game I name Bill Belichick the Meatball of the Game. An absolute tool bag move to keep throwing the ball late in the game and driving up the score on the Jets. We all get numb nuts; you hate the Jets franchise. Belichick is the kind of tool bag that relishes whooping on crappy teams but then acts like crotchety d-bag when his team chokes away a victory. If the Chargers whoop on the Patriots in the following week, I guarantee this tool bag would be surly and scowl at everybody. Play of the Game Opening Drive Trickery Read More 990WBOB |
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