Make it 15 consecutive wins for the New England Patriots against the New York Jets after a defensive masterclass secures them a 15-10 win on Sunday afternoon.
Though the scoreline may seem like it was a close game, the Patriots’ defensive performance says otherwise. It was a constant swarm of navy jerseys going at Jets quarterback Zach Wilson. Wilson completed 18 of 36 passes for 157 yards and was sacked three times. His offense only totaled 39 yards in the entire first half. Additionally, the Patriots held the Jets to only 2 of 14 attempts on third down. This displayed why New York is at the bottom of the league when it comes to third-down efficiency.
One of the only positives for Wilson is that he did not turn the ball over and put on a good touchdown drive in the second half going 84 yards. However, in the next drive, he was sacked by linebacker Matthew Judon for a safety that gave the Patriots a 5-point lead.
“When it’s [the defense’s] time we gotta answer the call,” said Judon after the game.
Wilson received plenty of boos from the Jets faithful for his performance. He was seen on the sidelines airing his frustration with his fellow teammates. What summed up Wilson’s dreadful performance was on fourth-and-10 with a minute left in the game. He threw the ball short to his tight end, who got nowhere close to the first down.
The Patriots never trailed in this game and led for the first time this season. They also secured their first points in the first quarter all season thanks to a field goal by rookie kicker Chad Ryland. The rookie had a difficult time kicking today due to the weather but went two for four, as he connected on kicks from 48 and 51 yards.
It was a positive for the Patriots’ offensive line as quarterback Mac Jones avoided getting sacked. He was still faced with pressure from a good Jets front seven but was able to get the ball out to his receivers. The third-year quarterback finished with 201 yards and a touchdown.
In the second quarter, the Patriots set up with three tight ends which confused the Jets’ defense. It led to Jones finding Pharaoh Brown wide open in space. He ran it into the endzone for a 58-yard touchdown. It was Brown’s first touchdown in three years.
The running game had a resurgence as well. After two straight games of not being able to establish the running game, the Patriots had 157 yards on the ground and saw how effective their duo of Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliot could be.
Despite the win, the Patriots’ offense struggled to get anything going in the second half as they were shut out to finish the game. In one drive the Patriots offense had three penalties that stalled the drive and momentum. The first penalty on the first play of the drive was for an illegal blindside block by wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster that set them back 10 yards.
On third down, the Patriots had two consecutive false start penalties by linemen Trent Brown and Michael Onwenu. This set them back another 10 yards which led to a punt. While the Patriots started the game well offensively, they still have not played a game of football where the offense has started and ended well.
“We’ve just got to convert and get more points than we got,” said Coach Bill Belichick about his offense. “15’s not going to – generally you’re going to need more than that. But it was good enough today.”
The Jets had one final chance for a Hail Mary at the end of the game and almost won with another walk-off touchdown. The ball was batted down by a Patriots defender into the hands of Randall Cobb, but he slipped and couldn’t hang onto the ball ending the chance of a miracle for the Jets. The Patriots will face the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday, as they look to build some momentum from this win.
