The Patriots faced their toughest challenge of the season against the Jets on Sunday, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the NFL’s top-ranked defense to remain undefeated with a 30-23 victory.
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Being forced to settle for a field goal after facing first-and-goal at the NYJ six-yard line came back to haunt New England, however, as the Jets proceeded to drive 80 yards in 13 plays on their ensuing possession, which concluded in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to Ivory to give New York a 17-16 advantage with 4:07 left in the third quarter. Brady attempted 54 passes, completing 34 to eight receivers for 355 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. “He ended up finding the matchups that he wanted to find and made the plays he needed to throw”.
From an overall perspective, Slater said, “The thing that goes overlooked a lot of times is that it takes longer to recover from playing a football game”. The Jets then settled for a field goal and recovered an onside-kick, giving them one more shot to tie the game. But after a first-down completion to Eric Decker, the Jets’ opportunity for a Hail Mary disappeared when Brandon Marshall was flagged for a false start.
“I can’t sit here as the player rep for this team and say that I’m a huge fan of it”, Slater said.
Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was 22-for-39 for 295 yards with two touchdowns. – Matt Ryan threw for 251 yards and a touchdown pass, and Devonta Freeman ran for 116 yards to lead Atlanta. The Patriots spend little time attempting to establish their rushing attack in the absence of starting running back Dion Lewis, with Brady leading the running game with four carries for 15 yards and a touchdown.
Asked if he can feel a difference in his body on Thursday night games, Slater said, “I think so”. But now they must wait for the December 27 rematch in New York, when the Jets will try to beat New England for just the second time in 11 regular-season tries.
Despite the NFL’s top-ranked defence sacked Brady three times – all in the first half – and otherwise making him uncomfortable in the pocket, New England took a 13-10 halftime lead. The Patriots’ injury-plagued offensive line responded in the second half, and so did Brady.
Fitzpatrick hit Ivory for a 9-yard score late in the third and Nick Folk kicked the second of his three field goals to make it 20-16 with 12:50 to play.
“Tom is great at dissecting any defense and that’s what he did down the stretch”, said Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who spent last season in New England. But you talk about player safety and health, and it’s hard for us to understand how that is catering toward our players’ safety and health.
The Patriots scored twice in the fourth quarter, first on Danny Amendola’s 8-yard reception and again on a 15-yard TD by tight end Rob Gronkowski with 1:13 remaining.
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After getting the ball with 2:24 left, Cousins drove the Redskins 80 yards in 11 plays, completing 9 of 11 passes for 75 yards along the way. Jets coach Todd Bowles said centre Nick Mangold suffered a neck injury and would have X-rays on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.
