Today In Patriots History 1986: Pats Defense Shuts Down Jets, 20-6

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Pats D forces 3 Turnovers, Four Sacks
Patriots Shut Down Jets, 20-6​

Thursday Sept 11, 1986 at 8:00
Week 2, Game 2 at Giants Stadium
New England Patriots 20, New York Jets 6
Head Coaches: Raymond Berry, Joe Walton
QBs: Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien
Odds: New York Jets favored by 1½
Patriots improve to 2-0; Jets drop to 1-1


The Patriots went on the road and completely shut down the Jets, winning their second game of the season 20-6. Andre Tippett, Don Blackmon, Dennis owens and Mike Ruth sacked Ken O'Brien once each, and Ronnie Lippett and Roland James both had an interception off the Jet quarterback. The Jets were unable to cover Stanley Morgan, who finished with eight receptions for 104 yards. The Patriots never gave the Jets a chance, controlling the ball for ten more minutes than their impotent opponent, 35:01 to 24:59.

Through their first two games the Patriots had allowed just nine points, and zero touchdowns - with a plus 18:06 advanatge in time of possession.

This was the first time time that Tony Eason and Ken O'Brien met as starting quarterbacks. The two had been part of the great QB class of 1983 that also included first round picks on hall of famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. The Jets and Patriots were both 11-5 playoff teams in 1985, with the Pats beating the Jets 26-14 in the wild card game, with 17 points coming off Jet turnovers.

PATRIOTS DEFEAT JETS EASILY, 20-6 (Published 1986)

www.nytimes.com

Freeman McNeil, without whom the Jets have been a losing team over the years, was sidelined tonight for four to six weeks, the team said. The star runner suffered a dislocated right elbow and was hospitalized while his teammates went on to take a 20-6 battering from the New England Patriots at Giants Stadium.​

It will be a game that could trouble the Jets the rest of the season: They will play their key division rival only once more this campaign, and that will be before McNeil is likely to return. With McNeil, the Jets' first pick of the 1981 draft, in the lineup, the team has a 34-21-1 record. Without him, they are 8-10.​

Few players perform up to their potential against the hard-driving Patriot defense. McNeil gained only 23 yards on 8 carries. His last was his longest, for 7 yards in the second quarter. But he was never fully balanced, and as he ran low he attempted to keep himself erect by bracing himself with one hand. Finally, he fell on the elbow and was hit by Garin Veris and Steve Nelson.​

Yardage came hard for all the Jets tonight. The Patriots have not permitted a touchdown in winning their first two games. The Jets, who are now 1-1, managed only a pair of field goals from Pat Leahy.​

It was a long night that started full of promise and 72,422 fans turned out. But little worked for the Jets, not even a pair of trick plays.​

Jet runners gained only 70 yards on 25 carries. Ken O'Brien's 16 completions in 30 attempts generated only 180 yards and he was intercepted twice. He was sacked once in the first half and three more times in the second half as the game got out of hand.​

Craig James (63 yards on 21 carries) and Collins (18 for 56), the Patriots' top runners, complemented Tony Eason's accurate passing game. Eason completed 14 of 22 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown, and Stanley Morgan embarrassed the Jets' defenders by collecting eight receptions for 104 yards.​

There was more than enough embarrassment to go around for the Jets. In addition to botching a pair of trick plays, they were fooled by a touchdown pass from one Patriot running back to another, and they failed to cover New England's receivers.​

Indeed, the Jets employed three different left cornerbacks at that troubled position, a side of the field that came alive with the sound of Eason's passes being completed to his receivers.​

The Patriots opened the scoring when Eason tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Collins in the first quarter.​

On the Jets' next drive, McNeil faked a sweep after taking a handoff from O'Brien. McNeil was to toss the ball back to O'Brien. Instead, it was badly overthrown and two plays later O'Brien was intercepted.​

The Jets did get field goals from Leahy of 33 and 47 yards in the second quarter, giving him a club-record 14 straight going back to last season.​

But early in the third period, on fourth and 1 from the Jets' 10, the Jets played the Patriots to run. Steve Grogan, the backup quarterback who calls the plays, had something else in mind. Six Jets' defenders charged. Instead, Eason pitched to James, who tossed an easy pass to Collins, all alone at the goal line, for a 10-yard score. Later in the period, Tony Franklin booted a 45-yard field goal.​

Midway through the last quarter, trailing by 17-6, the Jets again tried something different. Near midfield, on a fourth-down punting situation, the ball was snapped to Tony Paige instead of Dave Jennings. But no sooner did Paige cradle the ball than he was tackled by Ed Williams, who came in over a missed block. On the next drive, Franklin kicked a 42-yard field goal.​

For the first time in regular-season play, the new instant-replay offficial overruled a call on the field. It happened in the third quarter, when Al Toon snared an O'Brien pass but was ruled out of bounds by an official on the field. After the replay was viewed, the Jets were credited with a completion, but they were still short of a first down.​

After this game the media predicted the Jets to stumble due to the injury to McNeil, who had been named to three of the last four pro bowls and totaled 1,758 yards from scrimmage in 1985. Instead the Jets reeled off nine consecutive wins and had the NFL's best record in mid-November at 10-1. After that they imploded, losing five in a row to barely squeak into the playoffs as a wild card on a tie breaker. After beating KC, they were beating Cleveland 20-10 and would have forced the Browns to a 3rd and 26 - but Mark Gastineau was flagged for spearing Bernie Kosar, giving the Browns life. Cleveland came back to win 23-20 in double overtime to end the Jets season. A week later the Browns lost to Denver when John Elway orchestrated the famous 98 yard "The Drive" to tie the game. The Broncos won in overtime, and to Cleveland fans horror a year later they watched their Browns again lose to Denver in the game referred to as The Fumble.




Box Score, Team and Individual Stats:

New England Patriots at New York Jets - September 11th, 1986 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

New England Patriots 20 at New York Jets 6 on September 11th, 1986 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Jimmy G Wins In First NFL Start
Patriots Edge Arizona, 23-21​

Sunday Sept 11, 2016 at 8:30
Week 1, Game 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium
New England Patriots 23, Arizona Cardinals 21
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Bruce Arians
QBs: Jimmy Garoppolo, Carson Plamer
Odds: Arizona favored by 9


The Patriots were without Tom Brady, who was serving the first of his four game suspension thanks to the mental midgets at 345 Park Avenue who failed their 7th grade science class. In addition the Pats were without Gronk (hamstring), Rob Ninkovich (suspended for using a non-approved supplement), and Sebastian Vollmer, Dion Lewis, Tre' Jackson and TE Michael Williams were all on injured reserve. On top of that Chandler Jones had departed in free agency - and was now playing for the opponent. The end result was that Arizona was heavily favored to win the Sunday Night Football season opener.


The Pats got on board first with Chris Hogan scoring his first touchdown in a Patriot uniform on a 37-yard TD pass from Garoppolo. Julian Edelman caught all seven passes thrown his way for 66 yards, many in very critical situations, and LeGarrette Blount rushed for 70 yards and one TD.

Stephen Gostkowski kicked two fourth quarter field goals - a 53-yarder, and then a 32 yarder with 3:44 left to play for the winning points. Garoppolo finished 24-33 for 264 yards, one TD and no picks, but did lose a fumble that was recovered by Chandler Jones to set up a score. On the Pats final drive Jones sacked Jimmy G, but he came back to complete five passes (three to Danny Amendola for 32, 13 and 3 yards) to set up Gostkowski's game winning kick.


RB David Johnson rushed for 89 yards and one TD for Arizona, and added 43 yards on four receptions. He had an amzing 45 yard run where he cut into the line, spun away from a would-be tackler, put his hand on the ground to steady his balance and stiff-armed another defender before racing down the sidelines. That set up a sweet over-the-shoulder catch by Larry Fitzgerald, the 100th TD reception of his career. Fitzgerald had eight receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

Arizona drove to the New England 29 yard line with 41 seconds remaining in the game. The snap was low, causing the timing to be off. The would be winning field goal attempt went wide left, and the Pats escaped with a two-point upset road victory.

Five quick impressions from Patriots' 23-21 win over Cardinals

We’ll get to the low snap from rookie Cardinals long-snapper Kameron Canaday that helped the Patriots pull this one out in the final moments, but for now, here are five quick impressions from the season-opener between the Patriots and Cardinals, which the guests won, 23-21. . . RELATED: Curran’s...

www.nbcsportsboston.com

Fitzgerald great, Cardinals still lose to Patriots 23-21

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Larry Fitzgerald heard the report about this being his last season and quickly swatted it down. ''I don't talk about my future,'' he said.

www.si.com

Cardinals miss last-second FG, lose opener to Patriots

Funny thing about sports. Countless hours are spent by coaches and players watching video, developing game plans and practicing. Then a game is decided by sheer athletic ability, a player making something out of nothing.

www.azcentral.com

https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/sports/nfl/cardinals/2016/09/11/nfl-football-arizona-cardinals-vs-new-england-patriots/90246206/

Danny Amendola with a clutch 4th quarter grab



Malcolm Butler breaks up a pass intended for Michael Floyd in the end zone



Larry Fitzgerlad with a beautiful catch for his 100th TD, despite good coverage by Logan Ryan



LeGarrette Blount with a 13-yard run to set up the game winning field goal



Jimmy G threw for 264 yards in his first start


0:50 Play of the Game
David Johnson Refuses to Go Down! | Patriots vs. Cardinals | NFL



5:52 Official NFL Highlight Video
Patriots vs. Cardinals | NFL Week 1 Game Highlights



19:28 Highlight Video
No Brady, No Problem For Jimmy G's 1st Start! (Patriots vs. Cardinals 2016, Week 1)



2:26:53 Full Game Video
2016 Week 1 - Patriots @ Cardinals
​

Box Score, Stats and Full Play-by-Play:

New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals - September 11th, 2016 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

New England Patriots 23 at Arizona Cardinals 21 on September 11th, 2016 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Drew Bledsoe Throws for 380 Yards and 3 TD
Patriots Lose in Shootout to Buffalo, 38-35​

Sunday Sept 11, 1994 at 1:00
Week 2, Game 2 at Foxboro Stadium
Buffalo Bills 38, New England Patriots 35
Head Coaches: Bill Parcells, Marv Levy
QBs: Drew Bledsoe, Jim Kelly
Odds: New England favored by 2½


This was the first home game for Robert Kraft as team owner, and first under the venue's new nameplate of Foxboro Stadium.

The schedule makers did not do the Patriots any favors to open the 1994 season, kicking off with a pair of difficullt division games. Dan Marino's Miami Dolphins were a perennial playoff contender, and would be so again that year. The Buffalo Bills had merely owned the AFC, winning the conference championship and playing in the Super Bowl each of the previous four seasons.

The Patriots dug themselves into an early 14-0 hole, and played from behind the entire afternoon. Vincent Brown intercepted a Jim Kelly pass intended for Andre Reed one play after a Kevin Turner fumble to turn things around though. That led to an 18-yard TD from Drew Bledsoe to Ben Coates near the end of the first quarter to cu the deficit to 14-7. However Buffalo came right back to score two maore times, sandwiched around another Bledsoe to Coates TD to make it 28-14 at half time.


Marion Butts scored on a 19 yard run up the middle on New England's first possession of the second half, but then Bledsoe threw two interceptions. In the first minute of the fourth quarter Bruce Smith sacked Bledsoe, and Mike Lodish ran it in for a 5-yard TD that gave the Bills a 35-21 lead.

The Pats had to punt on their ensuing drive, but Myron Guyton picked off Kelly on a 3rd and 2, returning the ball 15 yards to the Buffalo 23 yard line. Three plays later Bledsoe hit Michael Timpson on a 12 yard TD pass, and the Patriots were again within 7 points.

Kelly was picked off again on the next drive, this time by Maurice Hurst, and the Pats took over on their 31. Bledsoe hit Ben Coates over the middle for 24 yards and on the next play connected with Coates for 31 yards on the left, and the Patriots were in scoring position. Marion Butts ran it twice, for 7 yards and 6 yards, and the score was tied at 35-all.


Buffalo returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards to give the Bills a first down at their 43. They couldn't get much going on the ground, but Kelly connected with Don Beebe (12 yards) and Andre Reed (19 yards) for a pair of first downs. The drive stalled at the Pats 14, and Steve Christie kicked a 32 yard field goal to put the Bills up by three. Bledsoe hit Timpson for 28 yards, but the clock ran out before the Patriots could get close enough for a field goal attempt.





Ben Coates finished with 9 receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and Michael Timpson had five catches for 101 yards and a TD. Marion Butts had a good day too, with 82 yards on 18 carries, two touchdowns, plus a 15-yard reception. Bledsoe did throw for 328 yards on a 26-42 day, but his three touchdowns were offset by two picks and a lost fumble.

18:11 Highlight Video
A Classic Aerial Shootout! (Bills vs. Patriots 1994, Week 2)
​

Box Score, Stats and Full Play-by-Play:

Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots - September 11th, 1994 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Buffalo Bills 38 at New England Patriots 35 on September 11th, 1994 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com