Best of Social Media: Week 12 Patriots vs Jets

Heading into Sunday’s match up with the rival New York Jets at MetLife stadium for the first time in 2016, the New England Patriots were seeking to clinch their 16th consecutive season above .500 with a win.

During pregame warm ups, many media members noted the light attendance by Jets fans and the fair amount of Patriots Nation making the trip.

Sparse crowd inside MetLife Stadium cheered Tom Brady as he ran onto the field with Jimmy Garoppolo. Mostly Patriots fans at this point. pic.twitter.com/neU7JELOrc

— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) November 27, 2016

The tailgate must be wild right now. There's hardly anyone here 15 minutes before kickoff. pic.twitter.com/QLSDEKDj88

— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) November 27, 2016

Patriots come out to boos with The Imperial March playing pic.twitter.com/LbY7h9vpr5

— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) November 27, 2016

https://twitter.com/Edelman11/status/802933631811518464

With the game underway, the Patriots struggled early against the Jets defense and found themselves in an early 10-0 hole heading into the second quarter.

The Good News: Dion Lewis is BACK!

Yup, Dion Lewis just juked a Jets defender off his feet. pic.twitter.com/QMRSKxk1Ly

— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) November 27, 2016

https://twitter.com/PatriotsSB49/status/803256118810210304?lang=en

While nothing came of the play, fans were also treated to this near-heart attack moment when Brady became a blocker for LeGarrette Blount.

How you scare a Patriots fan…#NEvsNYJ pic.twitter.com/zqJ3pEyzCI

— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) November 27, 2016

Patriots QB Tom Brady this morning on his lead block: “You guys saw what happened when I got in front of a running back, I can't do s—." pic.twitter.com/wfGQu7DQ29

— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) November 28, 2016

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Legarrette Blount (@lgblount)

Following a Stephen Gostkowski 28 yard field goal to put the Patriots on the board, rookie Malcolm Mitchell found the end zone for the second consecutive week to tie the game at 10 but not before Tom Brady went over 60,000 passing yards during the drive.

12 ? 11 for 18 = 60K.

Brady becomes the 5th player to reach 60,000 yards on this 18-yard pass to @Edelman11! https://t.co/h4Kd8vZuLJ

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 28, 2016

https://twitter.com/UGAfootballLive/status/803031197215498241?lang=en

https://twitter.com/TomBradysEgo/status/803004816591044613?lang=en

The Patriots had an opportunity to take the lead before halftime but Stephen Gostkowski’s season long struggles continued with another miss, this time from 39 yards.

Stephen Gostkowski missed from 39 yards. This is…a problem. No confidence is this guy right now, which is a weird feeling. #Patriots

— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) November 27, 2016

Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski missed his 7th kick of 2016. The last time he missed 7 kicks was his rookie year.

— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) November 28, 2016

Gostkowski has missed 7 kicks this year (4 FGS, 3 XPs) on 52 total attempts. From 2013-15, he missed 8 kicks on 261 attempts.

— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) November 27, 2016

https://twitter.com/FitzyGFY/status/803008398648311808?lang=en

The last time I Tweeted "We have a kicker problem" was 1995

— Jerry Thornton (@jerrythornton1) November 27, 2016

Late in the third quarter, Gostkowski would bounce back by making a 29 yarder to give the Patriots their first lead of the game at 13-10.

It wouldn’t last long after Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick found receiver Quincy Enunwa in what was later called the “Butt Touchdown”.

#ButtTouchdown https://t.co/CYc0FVQH3K

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 27, 2016

Jets-Patriots: of course. A butt touchdown.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 27, 2016

Hitting the 10 minute mark in the fourth quarter the Patriots again found themselves trailing at 17-13 before Gostkowski nailed a 41 yarder to cut the deficit to one at 17-16.

With the Jets unable to add to their lead, the Patriots got the ball back with 5:04 to go in the game still down only a point, and Tom Brady did what he does best, by engineering yet another late game comeback by throwing six passes including a deep ball to Chris Hogan for 25.

The drive setup rookie Malcolm Mitchell for this second touchdown pass of the game.

Brady. Mitchell. For the lead. #NEvsNYJ https://t.co/87HfKXzVs5

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 28, 2016

The Patriots were unable to convert the two point conversion attempt after a review saw James White unable to cross the white line with the ball. It would be up to the Patriots defense to win the game leading by five at 22-17 with 2 minutes to go.

Enter Chris Long.

FUMBLE!!!! Patriots Recover the football after Chris Long knocks the ball out of Fitzpatrick's hand.

— PatsFans.com (@PatsFans) November 28, 2016

https://twitter.com/Ky1eLong/status/803031988085149696?lang=en

Welcome to the @Patriots @nyjets rivalry, @JOEL9ONE

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) November 28, 2016

When Chris Long made his strip-sack and celebrated by hushing the crowd, he realized all he could hear were Patriots fans losing it.

— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) November 28, 2016

https://twitter.com/NEPD_Loyko/status/803031987942551552?lang=en

The Patriots would take over and run out the clock on their ninth victory of the season moving to 9-2 and the jumped back into the top seed in the AFC Courtesy of another win over a conference opponent.

TB Times is out. pic.twitter.com/owulcrGmD2

— Christopher Price (@cpriceglobe) November 28, 2016

The win had historical implications for both Tom Brady and the Patriots franchise, Brady alone accounts for nearly 40% of the teams total wins.

Win number 200 for #TB12, tying Peyton Manning for the most wins by an NFL quarterback. pic.twitter.com/2hHEKfejHo

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 28, 2016

https://twitter.com/giseleofficial/status/803033351737188352

Tom Brady: 200 wins in 261 games.

Peyton Manning: 200 wins in 292 games.

Brett Favre: 199 wins in 322 games.

Let that sink in…#OnToLA

— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) November 28, 2016

Congrats to the @Patriots on becoming the 1st original American Football League franchise to reach 500 total victories! pic.twitter.com/zj50UKFX04

— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) November 28, 2016