MORSE: Observations from a Hard Fought Patriots Victory over Rival Jets in Week 8

The Patriots are right where I expected them to be after 8 weeks, 4 wins, and 4 losses. How they got here has been a bit of a surprise! The victory was a good bounce-back game for the Patriots and the Defense in particular. The Jets Defensive line was as good as advertised. They rarely blitz and relied on the front 4 to put pressure on Mac Jones and that’s what they did. That’s 13 games in a row the Patriots have defeated the Jets.

The Offensive line played like they were a sieve, as they let Jet D-linemen through them at will.
Mac Jones was under constant pressure in the 1^st quarter. The Jets’ defense really sped up Mac Jones and he held the ball too long and wasn’t sharp. Given the pressure he was under I thought Jones played pretty well.
Isaiah Wynn was particularly bad. He came in the game to have Marcus Cannon move to an eligible extra TE. But by doing this, Cannon if not exercising the eligible TE on the next play has to be the one that comes out. On the next play, Wynn was beaten to the outside by Bryce Huff and he knocked Mac Jones’s hand as he was trying to release the pass and Jones threw up a wounded duck that was intercepted. That INT is not on Jones but on the poor play of the O-line. How would Jones be playing if he had the play of the Offensive Line from last season?
Cole Strange was even worse. He was called for two holding penalties and gave up a sack. He was taken out of the game and Wynn replaced him at LG. The loss of David Andrews, who had been holding Strange’s hand, showed up here in this game.
James Ferentz is just not big enough to handle someone like Quinnen Williams.
The Jets’ front 4 were magnificent. I was very impressed with John Franklin–Myers, despite the fact that he was called for the crucial roughing the Quarterback penalty when he launched himself at mac Jones, eliminating the pick-six. Even when subs came in they also applied pressure. I would love to see the number of QB hurries Mac Jones had.
I thought that Mac Jones made some big plays with his feet and a few 3^rd down completions.
I loved how the coaches had Jones come out in a no-huddle offense to open the 2^nd This didn’t allow the Jets to make any defensive player substitutions. They got tired and were less effective.
The Patriots took what they were given with underneath stuff to Stevenson and short passes to Jakobi Myers.
Mac Jones got the ball out quickly during this drive.
The near pick-six, nullified by a roughing the QB penalty, was a miscommunication between Jakobi Meyers and Jones. Jones threw it to the outside and Myers cut inside. In real-time, It looked worse, like Jones was throwing it right to the Jets’ D-back.
That roughing the QB penalty was legitimate since the DE launched himself at Jones. It has been called consistently all season and the Jets have nothing to argue about.
The other controversial penalty was unnecessary roughness when CJ Mosely hit Mac Jones in the head as he was going down. Jones was a runner, but Mosely can’t give the runner a forearm shiver to the head. That’s targeting and he deserved the penalty.
The failure of De’Marcus Mitchell to down the ball at the one-yard line should have been challenged. Mitchell controlled the ball and it is down where he touched it. He had control.
Rhamondre Stevenson had a great game as an all-around back. He ran for 71 yards and caught 7 passes for 72 yards. His pass-blocking and blitz pickup are very good too.
The Patriots’ Defense shut down the Jets’ running game (51 yards allowed) and forced Zach Wilson to try and beat them. The Patriots’ Defense was credited with 20 QB hurries in this game.
Zach Wilson was bad. He was 20-41 (<50%), for 355 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, and was sacked twice. He scrambled out of numerous sacks and ran around like a chicken with his head cut off. The two INTs by Devin McCourty were the result of Wilson throwing the ball downfield on a hope and prayer. The Jets won the last two games when Wilson had no turnovers.
Jakobi Meyers had a great game with 9 catches for 60 yards and a TD. He was targeted 12 times. Thornton had one catch as did Agholor.
Davante Parker was hurt on the 1^st play from scrimmage on what should have been an easy pitch and catch. Parker ran a quick slant but Jones threw the ball late and slightly behind him, allowing the DB to break it up. If Jones had led him it was a catch.
I thought Jabrill Peppers had a good game and hit hard. He took a late-hit penalty out of bounds (good call). Peppers led the team with 8 tackles.
Have to give kudos to Nick Folk for his consistency on his 5 Field Goals. He even hit one from 52 yards. Greg Zuerlein missed an FG for the Jets and that took the air out of the crowd.
Mac Jones threw the ball from the shotgun a lot today. You rarely saw him under center and drop back. I wonder if that is because those dropback steps are the ones that hurt him the most. I later found out that when Jones is under center he has only thrown 11 times all season. However, they caught the Jets trying to beat the Pats by exploiting one of their tendencies. When under center and having Damien Harris in the backfield, it is a running play nearly 100% of the time. Jones caught the Jets in a run blitz and did a beautiful play-action pass, connecting with Hunter Henry for a 22-yard gain. We need to see more of that.
Rumors were swirling that Mac Jones was having numbness in his toes last week. That could be that his wrap for the high ankle sprain is too tight and is cutting off circulation.
The Patriots’ left too many points on the field by settling for FGs rather than getting the ball in the end zone. You can’t do that and expect to beat good teams.
I think there are too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to Mac Jones. One time on the bench he had Bill Belichick, Joe Judge, and Matt Patricia in his ear. Why wasn’t Patricia over with the swiss cheese Offensive line? Instead, they left assistant O-line coach Billy Yates there to clean things up.
The Patriots’ Special Teams had their best game of the season. The Patriots’ starting Field Position was at their own 43.
Let’s not forget that Mac Jones is 4 weeks from his injury. That is the same timeframe he would have had if he had the surgery. Jones wanted to prove he could rehab without surgery and be back in the same timeframe. I think Jones played a lot better than he is being given credit for.
Congratulations to coach Belichick for his 325th victory and sole possession of 2nd place all time. Considering this is the Salary Cap and Unrestricted Free Agency era this means more than having the overall record.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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Tags: New England Patriots New York Jets