The Super Bowl MVP completed 13 of 16 passes for 135 yards in the final quarter to overcome a 20-16 deficit and give New England (6-0) a two-game lead over the Jets in the AFC East. Through 6 games, the Patriots have scored 213 points, which is the most points scored through six games in franchise history – and yes, that includes 2007. The catch would have given the Jets a seven- or eight-point lead. Then there’s the Patriots, who completely ignored the run and still feasted on the Jets’ vaunted secondary.
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The play call resulted in a completion – a 12-yarder to Eric Decker that put the ball at the Patriots’ 37 with time running out. But, the drive stalled at the two yard line, and the Jets had to settle for a field goal. At full health, he will be a force in the ground game to be reckoned with, although fantasy owners must keep injury reports close at hand throughout the week.
Fourteen of those points came from two 10-play drives orchestrated by quarterback Tom Brady in the fourth quarter, when the Patriots waved bye to the Jets yet again and won, 30-23. While Jerod Mayo has yet to see much playing time as he is seemingly still not 100% after recovering from torn patella tendon early previous year. The Brady-to-Julian Edelman pickup was just way too easy. Field goals are just not good enough. That is exactly why the Jets fell.
A couple of other thoughts… With plenty of time to throw, Brady carved up the Jets during a second half in which he was 21-of-30, including 16-of-20 after the Patriots’ first possession.
The Patriots certainly had a few chances; they batted four passes at the line of scrimmage, including three by Rob Ninkovich.
You can steal Darrelle Revis away from Bill Belichick, you can bring in a bright defensive mind for a head coach and admire how he has instilled discipline, you can add the best player in the draft to your would-be New York Sack Exchange II…and Tom Brady simply does not give a damn.
Fantasy impact: Ivory was held to 41 yards on 17 carries as he struggled getting anything out toward the edge of the defense.
The part of limiting Fitzpatrick in the passing game didn’t go down as smoothly. Running back T.J. Yeldon rushed for 115 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.
The Jets defense actually played quite good, which was to be expected. Tom Brady has been operating efficiently as quarterback for the Patriots and wide receiver Danny Amendola is also standing out with his fantastic performances for the Patriots team. That’s a pretty successful game.
Brady is also on pace to tie Peyton Manning’s single-season record of 5,477 passing yards, and he’s the only qualified quarterback with just one interception. Defensively the Patriots went with more heavy fronts to shut down the run, which is the good news.
December 27th is fast approaching, and I for one can’t wait for the rematch.
Fitzpatrick majored in economics at Harvard, meanwhile throwing for a total of 3756 yards in his junior and senior years with Crimson.
Fitzpatrick completed 22 of 39 passes for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Jeremy Kerley having a role in the offense should be encouraging to all Jets’ fans, as he has been a solid contributor and a fan favorite. We hope that he isn’t seriously injured and will monitor his situation closely.
Rookie C David Andrews played all 67 snaps Sunday and is the only Patriots player to play every snap this season. Hightower was enormous in the middle of the Patriots defense, shooting the gaps, stuffing running lanes and generally being a pain in the butt of the Jets running backs. Like coach Bowles said during the week, this loss will not break their season.
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Now the job for Bowles is to ensure the sour taste doesn’t accompany the Jets across the country into a game Sunday afternoon against the suddenly relevant Oakland Raiders.
