The Patriots’ 24-3 loss to the Jets on Thursday Night Football was littered with plays and mistakes that had the outcome preordained long before the final whistle. This week, the team far from resembled the confident group on Week 1.
The Jets were the team flying around, and the Patriots looked sluggish and slow. Aaron Rodgers picked apart the defense, and the Jets’ offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage. Rodgers completed 27-35 for 281 yards and two TDs.
New York outgained the Patriots 400 to 139 and in first downs 27 to 11. This one was never in doubt. So, here are a few observations from the game.
Tackling Was a Major Issue:
As head coach Jerod Mayo said in his postgame presser, the Patriots had 14 missed tackles. Several times, they had the Jets stopped for a loss or minimal gain but couldn’t bring the runner down, resulting in big plays.
This was surprising since the defense was a sure-tackling unit in the first two games, which has been a staple of New England defenses for years. The first play that comes to mind is the Allen Lazard touchdown, where it seemed that Alex Austin had him about wrapped up but couldn’t finish the play. Another play that stood out was when Raekwon McMillan diagnosed the play and met Braelon Allen in the backfield, but Allen broke his tackle and turned a 3-4 loss into 4 yard gain.
The Patriots can’t afford to give away yardage with the offense struggling. That area needs tightening up, especially with San Francisco coming up in ten days.
Pass Protection Was Awful:
The Patriots were dominated by the Jets’ defense from start to finish. The Jets were not worried about the Patriots making any big plays over the top because they believed (rightfully so) that the New England offensive line couldn’t hold their blocks long enough. And they were correct.
Patriot quarterbacks were sacked seven times and hit 14 times. That is a recipe for one of them to end up on IR. The Jets pinned their ears back and blitzed from all over the field. And the OL couldn’t pick them up. Brissett was pressured on 56.5 percent of his dropbacks. There were times when numerous Jets were pressuring him. You can talk about Brissett holding the ball too long or WRs not getting separation, but there were too many jail-break pass rushes in under two seconds. No QB can be successful in that type of situation.
Far too many unblocked pass rushers were getting a clear path to Brissett. That has to be fixed.
Some of the other observations from the loss today:
Running Game Shelved:
The Patriots’ running backs combined for 32 carries on Sunday. On Thursday, they combined for just 12. Overall, the Patriots rushed just 15 times for 78 yards, a 5.1-yard average.
Part of the reason was that the game was getting away from them early, as Rodgers was moving the ball at will in the first half. But Alex Van Pelt also decided to try to untrack the passing game.
In the first two offensive series, AVP called seven passes and just two runs to Rhamondre Stevenson. Pass defense is the strength of the Jets’ defense, and the results speak for themselves. Granted, Mayo said on Sunday that the offense needed to get the ball down the field more. But they couldn’t execute, and the Jets pass rush ate them up.
After the Patriots’ second drive, New York was up 14-0, but they were then behind the eight ball. This team isn’t built for playing from behind, and it showed.
Ja’Whaun Bentley Was Missed:
Patriot defenders had a rough night, especially in the first half, where they allowed 252 yards. While this isn’t totally on Raekwon McMillan and Jahlani Tavai, the middle of the New England defense suffered without their captain.
The entire defense seemed flat all night, as the 14 missed tackles suggest. Rodgers ate them up with the short crossers and quick slants for good yardage. And the Jets ate them up with intermediate passes, finding holes in the Patriots’ coverages.
Pass rush lane integrity was lacking for much of the night. They couldn’t contain Rodgers in the pocket, and he made plays scrambling. He was 5-5, for 62 yards and a TD when the plays broke down and he broke containment. He also scrambled six times for 18 yards. He was only sacked twice and hit four times.
Pop Douglas Has a Good Night:
The Patriots’ quick slot receiver had been a forgotten man for the first two games, but tonight he was more of a focal point in the passing game. He was targeted nine times and had seven receptions for 69 yards.
This was a good sign for the passing game, arguably the only one on the night. His 22-yard catch off of what? Play action of course. These are they type of plays they need more of…if the protection holds up. Douglas also had a nine-yard carry on a nice play call by AVP.
Drake Maye Gets His First NFL Action:
The Patriots’ rookie quarterback came in late in the game in garbage time with the Jets up 24-3 and with just under four minutes to play. Unfortunately, it didn’t end in any points. And he too suffered the same fate as Brissett.
Maye was sacked twice and took a big hit in the pocket. He also took a big hit on a scramble. He completed 4-8 passes for 22 yards, his best throw was his last, zipping a nice ball to Douglas on 4th and 10 that placed them in scoring position at the Jets’ seven-yard line. But he was sacked on the next play and the Patriots opted to let the clock run out.
The team has 10 days off and then they travel to San Francisco to face a very good 49ers team. There is a lot of work to do.
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A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
SF is going to run on the pats all day and keep Purdy’s uni “Tidy clean”. Vs the Jets….one thing that is notable on the pats D is the lack of DT size in the middle was noticeable where the Jets controlled the line of scrimmage. It was the Jets running the ball and not the Pats. Rodgers could just sprinkle in short throws and keep their offense moving he chains. Control the game. Keep Rodgers clean. Game over. The Jets had 4.9 yds/carry in the 1st half I saw. It wasn’t all missed tackles. It was line of scrimmage… Read more »