Ryan L. Fox After playing on Thursday Night Prime Time home game against the New York Giants last week, the New England Patriots were back on the field for another Prime Time game against another New York team. This time it was on Monday Night on the road against the New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Although the Patriots won the first meeting of the series back on Week 3 on the final score of 30-14, the Jets were without starting QB Sam Darnold as he was battling a case of mono at the time. This time around, Darnold was back under center as the Jets were also coming off a big win the previous week against the Dallas Cowboys and riding high. But instead of providing a big boost to Big Green, things went horribly wrong as boogeymen and ghosts haunted the Jets throughout the entire game. Game Recap The Jets ended up winning the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. Jets K Sam Ficken booted the ball to Patriots KR/RB Brandon Bolden as Bolden brought the kick out of the endzone to the New England 22. QB Tom Brady and the offense took to the field for the Patriots’ first offensive possession of the game. The Patriots offense was easily able to march down the field against the Jets defense, including converting 4 3rd down conversions along the way to keep the drive alive. The fourth 3rd down conversion actually came on a 3rd and 2 from the New York 3 as RB Sony Michel bowled his way over the goalline for the touchdown. K Mike Nugent came on to boot the PAT through as the Pats got on the scoreboard first 7-0 with a little over 6 minutes left in the quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Nugent booted the ball to Jets WR/KR Ty Montgomery. Montgomery caught the ball in the endzone and proceeded to bring it back to the New York 31, only for it to get called back due to a penalty (illegal blindside block), thus putting the ball at the New York 8 for the Jets’ first possession of the game. However, the on the second play of the drive, Jets QB Sam Darnold dropped back to pass as the Patriots blitzed up the middle. Feeling the pressure, Darnold threw the ball away and into the waiting arms of Patriots FS Devin McCourty at the New York 18. McCourty returned the ball to the New York 12 where Brady and the offense came back out onto the field. Luckily for the Jets, the defense actually pushed the Patriots back to the New York 16 and then on 3rd and 14, Michel dropped a screen pass that would have been another touchdown. Instead, the Patriots had to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Mike Nugent to make it 10-0 with a little under 4 minutes left in the quarter. After forcing a Jets punt, the Patriots got the ball on their own 33. On the first play from scrimmage, Brady found Bolden deep along the left side line for a 28-yard bomb to the New York 39. The offense was able to get to the 35 but then Brady threw 2 straight incomplete passes. Facing a 4th and 6, coach Bill Belichick elected to go for it. Brady ended up finding TE Ben Watson for a 7-yard pass to the New York 28 to keep the drive alive. After a short run by Michel to the New York 26, Brady was faced with 2nd and 8. He then found WR Phillip Dorsett over the right side into the endzone for a 26-yard bomb. Nugent then booted the PAT after as the Patriots lead grew to 17-0 with under 10 seconds remaining in the quarter. The Jets ended up closing out the 1st quarter and opened up the 2nd quarter with the ball. They opened up the 2nd quarter with a 19-yard run by RB Le’Veon Bell up to the New England 49 and were looking to build off that run. But on the ensuing play, the Patriots blitzed heavy again as DE John Simon sacked Darnold back at the New York 42. The ball ended up coming out as LB Kyle Van Noy scooped up the loose ball at the New York 38 and returned it all the way for what appeared to be a touchdown. However, upon further review, Van Noy was ruled down by contact as the touchdown was taken off the board. Nevertheless, the Patriots still got the ball at the New York 38. It only took two plays (11-yard run by Michel & 23-yard pass from Brady to WR Jakobi Meyers) as the Patriots got into the red zone yet again. On 1st and goal from the New York 4, Brady handed the ball off to RB James White as he was able to get around the edge on the left side for what appeared to be a 4-yard touchdown run. But the play ended up getting called back due to a questionable illegal blocking penalty on WR Julian Edelman that wiped the touchdown off the board and put the ball back to the New York 11. Again, the Patriots offense chipped away at the Jets defense, getting all the way down to the New York 3. On 3rd and goal from the 3, Brady’s pass to Meyers in the endzone went incomplete. But a defensive holding penalty on Jets CB Brandon Poole gave the Patriots a fresh set of downs at the New York 1. The Patriots then handed the ball off to Michel as he was able to bowl his way over the goal line for the score for his second touchdown of the game. Nugent booted the PAT through as the Patriots went up 24-0 with a little over 9 minutes left in the quarter. The Jets got the ball back as Montgomery returned the ensuing kickoff to the New York 24. Desperate for a score, Darnold led the Jets offense down the field. Along the way, they were aided by 3 costly Patriots penalties for a combined 39 yards. The Jets got all the way down to the New England 19 but on 3rd and 10 from there, Darnold threw a questionable (that’s a nice way of putting it) ball into the middle of the field where only Patriot white jerseys were at. S Duron Harmon ended up being the Patriot to pick off the pass as he was down at the New England 1. The Patriots ended up going 3 and out before being forced to punt as the Jets got the ball in New England territory at the 46. Darnold lead the team down the field yet again but the Patriots defense was able to hold firm. Faced with a 4th and 4 at the New England 28, the Jets decided to go for it rather than attempt what would have been a 43-yard field goal attempt. But in Jet-like fashion, they failed miserably as Darnold’s pass to WR Robbie Anderson fell incomplete. Again, the Jets defense forced the Patriots to punt but this time, P Jake Bailey pinned the Jets at their own 15 with 16 seconds left in the half. Darnold ended up taking a knee as both teams went into halftime with the Jets trailing the Patriots 24-0 but getting the ball back to begin the 2nd half. The Jets opened up the 2nd half with the ball as Montgomery took the kickoff and returned it to the New York 24. There, Darnold and the Jets offense began their first possession of the 2nd half. They were able to move the ball effectively as they got up to the New England 49. On 3rd and 6, Darnold dropped back to pass but was facing another Patriots blitz. He ended up throwing it off his back foot down the middle of the field and into the waiting arms of Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore at the New England 30, who brought it back to the 38. The Patriots offense got as far as the New York 37 before facing 4th and 3 from there. Instead of going for it, Belichick elected to punt it as P Jake Bailey pinned the Jets deep in their territory at the 3-yard line. The Jets tried to get out from the shadow of their own endzone. But then on 2nd and 7 from their own 6, C Ryan Khalil snap went over Darnold’s head and into the endzone. The ball ended up going out of bounds as the Patriots were awarded a safety. But on upon further review, replay showed that Darnold batted the ball out of the back of the endzone, thus incurring a penalty. By rule, because an offensive player committed a penalty in the endzone, a safety was awarded to the Patriots to make it 26-0 with 7:41 left in the quarter. Edelman ended up returning the free kick from his own 19 to the New England 33 where the offense looked to capitalize on their opportunity. After a holding penalty back the Patriots to their own 23, they were faced with a 1st and 20. Brady dropped back for a pass but felt pressure from Jets DE Leonard Williams. The big defensive lineman knocked Brady’s arm as he released the ball as it wobbled in the air and into the arms of Jets CB Trumaine Johnson at the New England 36, who brought it back to the New England 33. The Jets were able to get deep into Patriots territory, mostly in part due to a pass interference call on Patriots CB J. C. Jackson to make it 1st and 10 from the New England 11. After 2 straight incompletions, the Jets were faced with 3rd and 10. But in typical Jet fashion, they choked away any opportunity for success as Darnold’s pass to WR Demaryius Thomas was picked off by CB Terrence Brooks in the endzone for a touchback. Surprisingly enough, nothing came out of that possession as the two teams traded punts with one another. The Patriots got the ball back at their own 41 with about 2:14 left in the 3rd quarter. Brady led the offense up to the New York 48 before then finding RB James White for 3 consecutive pass plays for a total of 34 yards all the way down to the New York 14 as the 3rd quarter ended. When the 4th quarter began, the Patriots continued their offensive drive. After White was stuffed for no gain on 1st and 10, Brady found Edelman over the right side for 10 yards down to the New York 4. Two plays later, Brady connected with Edelman again down to the New York 1. The Patriots then went heavy set as Michel bowled his way over the goal line for his 3rd touchdown of the game. Nugent booted the PAT through as the Patriots had a commanding 33-0 lead with a little over 12 and a half minutes remaining in the game. That’s where the score stood as for the remainder of the game as both teams traded punts with one another. The Patriots got the ball back with 19 seconds remaining at their own 19 with 1:02 remaining in the game. Backup Patriots QB Jarrett Stidham took two knees in the victory formation to run out the clock and mercifully end the game. When the clock read 00:00, the Patriots lifted their heads up and let out a celebratory cheer as they had crushed their AFC East rivals on the final score of 33-0. It was the second shutout they had for the season (43-0 against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2) as it improved their 2019 record to 7-0. Patriot Statistical Standouts QB Tom Brady: 31-for-45 for 249 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT for a QB Rating of 80.7 RB Sony Michel: 19 carries for 42 yards (2.2 yards per carry) and 3 TDs, 1 catch (on 2 targets) for -8 yards WR Julian Edelman: 3 carries for 20 yards (6.7 yards per carry), 7 catches (on 12 targets) for 47yards, 1 punt return for 19 yards P Jake Bailey: 7 punts for 261 yards (~37.3 yards per punt), 4 punts inside 20 FS Devin McCourty: 3 tackles (1 solo, 2 assists), 1 INT, 1 pass defended DE John Simon: 3 tackles (2 solo, 1 assist), 1.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble LB Kyle Van Noy: 5 tackles (3 solo, 2 assists), 1 fumble recovery Numbers! Numbers! Numbers! 77.1 – The difference in QB rating between Tom Brady (80.7) and Sam Darnold (3.6) .704 – Coach Bill Belichick’s winning percentage on Monday Night Football as head coach of the Patriots (19-8) .708 – Tom Brady’s winning percentage on Monday Night Football in his career (17-7) 1.000– The winning percentage of the Patriots on the road in October since 2014 (12-0) 18 – The total number of interceptions by the New England defense, a league high 5 – The number interceptions FS Devin McCourty has in 2019, which is a league high 14- The turnover differential for the Patriots after 7 games, the most in the NFL 25.0– The point differential for the Patriots in 2019 (31.9 ppg vs 6.9 ppg allowed) 4 – The number times this season the Patriots have held an opponent to less than 150 net passing yards (@ Miami Dolphins, 142 in Week 2; vs. New York Jets, 69 in Week 3; @ Washington Redskins, 78, in Week 6; @ New York Jets, 73 in Week 7) 3 – The number of times the New England Patriots have started a season 7-0 in franchise history (2007, 2015, 2019) Interesting Tidbit of the Game Did you know that the Patriots are 1 of 3 teams to score 30+ points and shutout their opponent multiple times in the first 7 games of a season? They join the 1942 Chicago Bears and the 1991 Washington Redskins as the only teams to do so. Interestingly enough, the Bears lost the NFL Championship in 1942 to the Washington Redskins while the Redskins ended up winning Super Bowl XXVI against the Buffalo Bills in the 1991-92 NFL Season. Fox Fist Bump Fine. All right. No asterisk this week due to angry e-mails. The Fox Fist Bump goes to the New England defense. Forced 5 turnovers, allowed just a total of 167 total offensive yards, forced a safety, and shutout the Jets offense and kept them off the scoreboard. Clean, efficient, and downright mesmerizing. Now imagine if they could do that against an actual offense. That would be something. The Meatball of the Week The Meatball of the Week is none other than Jets QB Sam Darnold. Oh. My. God. How in the blue hell did he beat the Dallas Cowboys last week? My god, oh my god! It’s okay if you throw a pick against this Pats defense and have a hard time trying to muster some offense. But Darnold didn’t do just that, oh no. He threw FOUR (yup, you read that correct) of them, including one where there wasn’t a Jets receiver in the vicinity and two where the Jets were in the red zone and killed the drive. I had to go back and look at the game film and guess what all four of those picks have in common: they all were the result of him throwing off his back foot (that is a QB no-no). He finished the game 11-of-32 for 86 yards, 0TDS, and 4 INTs for a QB rating of….3.6! How is that even possible?! HOW?! Thank Vince Lombardi I don’t have to watch this gutless puke play the Patriots until next year and that’s assuming he doesn’t see any more ghosts. Play of the Game Patriots vs. Jets 2019 In a Nutshell Picture of the Game Read More 990WBOB |
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