The Falcons, who improved to 6-1, were helped by two key interceptions – linebacker Paul Worrilow’s with seconds left in the second quarter and one by safety Robenson Therezie late in the fourth.
Advertisement
Tom Brady threw a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns as the New England Patriots continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 30-23 win over the New York Jets. The Patriots had to settle for a field goal, which gave them a 16-10 lead that the Jets quickly erased.
Rob Ninkovich had a monster game for New England. After losing 1 yard in three plays – including Brady’s first sack of the game – Stephen Gostkowski kicked the first of his three field goals. With the way Brady spread the ball around to a handful of different receivers, it was almost impossible for the Jets to stop one particular guy. It was Gronkowski’s 60th career touchdown catch.
The Jets rallied in the final minute, kicking a field goal on first down and then recovering the onside kick with 15 seconds left.
“He is a heady player and on a few of the naked [bootlegs] early, he stayed home and batted a few balls down”, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick explained.
Following a Patriots punt, Fitzpatrick pioneered another lengthy drive, this one traveling 83 yards in 14 plays over 7:35, ending in a five-yard touchdown pass to wideout Jeremy Kerley to provide his team with a 10-3 advantage early in the second quarter. Brady’s numbers should have looked much better from the game, but the Patriots (namely Brandon LaFell) struggled mightily with drops throughout the afternoon.
On their annual trip to visit their biggest rivals, the Jets on Sunday brought several accessories they lacked in recent years: the league’s top defense, the leading running back in yards per game and, most remarkably, the respect of people who don’t cheer for them.
Mike Tolbert scored two touchdowns for the Panthers, opening the scoring with a two-yard plunge and adding a two-yard TD reception on the first possession of the second half. Brady attempted 54 passes, completing 34 to eight receivers for 355 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Chris Ivory likely won’t be received well either, especially if he continues his torrid two-game stretch (49 carries, 312 yards and two touchdowns) against the 22nd-ranked Patriots’ rush defense. Punter Steve Weatherford booted it four times during the game, averaging 40.3 yards per punt and a long of 50 yards.
The Patriots have a quick turnaround, hosting Miami on Thursday night. But after a short pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick left the Jets 37 yards from the tying score, a false-start penalty on Brandon Marshall ended the game. Lamar Miller ran for 175 yards in a half-game of action, while Jarvis Landry hauled in two touchdown grabs. He’s been a great player for us since he got here.
As Belichick’s old boss Bill Parcells once wrote, there are “no medals for trying”, and Bowles certainly embraced that message when asked what he would take away from his first head-to-head meeting with Belichick as Jets coach. We lost. It was our fault. “But in the end we were able to make the plays we needed to make when we needed to make them”.
The Jets had a good showing today, but we also learned they are not yet on the same level of the Patriots. “We’ll take a day and get this nasty taste out of our mouth, and come tomorrow, we will move on”.
Advertisement
New York center Nick Mangold was injured in the final minute, suffering an apparent head injury. “I’m baaaaaaaack!!!!” Weatherford posted on Instagram. Running back T.J. Yeldon rushed for 115 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. Shonta picked it up and ran twenty-five yards for a touchdown. The TD catch was the 60th of his career, coming in his 71st game and making him the third-fastest to 60.
