EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Who knew the Patriots could make
a Superbowl title defense look so easy?
That's been the case during the first two games after New England routed
the Jets 44-7 in the Meadowlands on Sunday. The Patriots held the
ball for over 20-minutes in the first half, outgaining New York 257-48
in total yards. The Jets also failed to capitalize on two New
England turnovers, and found themselves down 10-0 at halftime.
But in the second half the Patriots outscored New York 34-7, with New
England holding the ball for over 11-minutes in the final quarter of play,
sending home the majority of the 78,000 fans who spent a rainy afternoon
watching their team get embarrassed. The victory improved the Patriots
to 2-0 on the 2002 season, and was their 8th straight regular season victory
dating back to last year.
Tom Brady once again led the way, finishing 25-of-35 for 269-yards passing
and two touchdowns. He directed the Patriots offense flawlessly with
the exception of one errant pass that went off rookie receiver Deion Branch's hands and
was intercepted by the Jets. The interception eventually proved harmless
and was the only blemish on an otherwise solid afternoon for Brady.
The trouncing was certainly well balanced. New England ran 75-plays,
35 of the Patriots plays were through the air, with the other 40 coming
on the ground. No matter which play they ran New York showed no signs
of being able to stop them, and when the final whistle was blown New England
had racked up 432-yards in total offense and walked off the field with
the victory.
The Patriots first three possessions certainly didn't show any signs
of what was to come for the New England offense. They punted after
just four plays on their first possession, and on their first play from
scrimmage on their second possession Brady attempted to hit Deion Branch
on a slant pattern, but the ball went off his hands up to his helmet where
it spun around and eventually fell into the hands of Jets linebacker James
Darling.
On their next possession the Patriots ran 10-plays and ate up over 6-minutes
on the clock before Tom Brady completed a 26-yard pass to Troy Brown, and
Brown coughed up the football after Sam Garnes hit him on his way to the
endzone and the Jets recovered at their own 2-yard line, ending a potential
scoring threat for New England.
After a play action fake on an end around where Brady faked a reverse
and hit David Patten down field for a 39-yard gain, the Patriots found
themselves with first and goal from the Jets 4-yard line. Two plays
later Brady found tight end Cam Cleeland from 1-yard out to give them a
7-0 lead with 8:48 remaining in the first half.
About two minutes later the Patriots got the ball back and wouldn't
let go, holding it for the final 6-minutes of the first half and keeping
Vinny Testaverde and the Jets offense off the field. The drive eventually
culminated in a 28-yard field goal by kicker Adam Vinatieri to increase
their lead to 10-0 at halftime.
In the second half it was all New England, with safety Tebucky Jones
taking it to the Jets on their first possession and causing Vinny Tesdaverde
to fumble the ball after hitting him on a blitz. Jones picked up
the ball and scampered 24-yards for the score to increase the Patriots
lead to 17-0.
After forcing a 3-and-out by the Jets on their next possession, the
Patriots then put together a 12-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a field
goal but even more importantly ate up another 6-minutes on the clock and
kept Testeverde and the Jets offense off the field.
When they finally did come back they got all the way to New England's
18-yard line when Pats safety Victor Green intercepted a pass and then
ran 90-yards the other way to give the Patriots a 27-10 lead
Undaunted the Jets put together a 4-play 69-yard touchdown drive that
ended on a pass to tight end Anthony Becht in the endzone for a score,
and for the first time all afternoon the Jets showed a glimmer of hope
that they could fight and claw their way back into the game.
It never happened.
The Patriots put together an 8-play 75-yard drive that ended on a 49-yard
touchdown pass to Deion Branch and increased their already big lead to
34-7, and on their next possession New England held the Jets on a 4th-down
attempt which lead to a 40-yard field goal by Vinatieri to make the score
37-7.
The nail in the coffin came on the Patriots final drive of the game
when back-up Damon Huard came into the game and lead them to their final
touchdown, this time from runningback Kevin Faulk who spent last week on
the inactive list. Faulk took it in from 2-yards out, and put the
final exclamation on what has to be considered a masterful performance
the entire team.
The Patriots will now return home to take on the Chiefs next Sunday
in Foxboro.
PRINT THIS | 
E-mail To A Friend | 
Post Comment
