Patriots Handle Business, Down Jets 27-14 On TNF

The Patriots did what they had to do tonight to beat a Jets team that they should have beaten, notching their eighth consecutive win, 27-14, on Thursday Night Football at Gillette Stadium.

Drake Maye continued his outstanding season, and several times the “MVP, MVP” chant was heard from the crowd, while TreVeyon Henderson scored three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving.

With the win, the Patriots now own the best record in the NFL at 9-2. Who saw that coming? The important thing is that it keeps them ahead of Buffalo and marks their division record at 3-0, all of which are necessary things down the road.

This wasn’t a spotless game; there were plenty of mistakes made by the Patriots. This is why I hate Thursday night games; it was just sloppy enough for an inferior team to hang around long enough to make it interesting.

Like clockwork, the Patriots’ defense made Justin Fields look like Lamar Jackson on the opening drive of the game, as the Jets ate up the clock on a 14-play drive, with Fields scoring a touchdown rushing, beating Harold Landry to the edge to put the Jets up 7-0.

While Fields largely reverted to the struggling quarterback he is, the Jets were able to run the ball effectively behind Fields (11 carries, 67 yards) and Breece Hall (14 carries for 58 yards), as they churned out 140 yards on the ground.

However, Fields was held to just 116 yards passing, completing 15 of 26 passes with a touchdown, by the Patriots’ defense. That was actually more yardage passing than Fields has thrown in three of his previous four games.

The Patriots responded to the Jets’ opening drive by going on a long one of their own, going 69 yards on 13 plays with TreVeyon Henderson powering it in for a 7-yard touchdown to tie the score at 7-7. Drake Maye was 5-5 on the drive.

After the Jets went three-and-out, the Patriots took a 14-7 lead, going 83 yards on eight plays where Maye hit a 23-yard pass to tight end Hunter Henry and two straight 19-yard passes to Mack Hollins, before Henderson scored his second touchdown of the game from seven yards out.

The Jets weren’t moving the ball, and the Patriots had a chance to take a 10-point lead into halftime, but Andy Borregales pushed a 45-yard field goal wide right.

That particular drive was indicative of TNF play. The Patriots didn’t have any sense of urgency until the final few seconds. They received a Jets’ punt at their own 41-yard line with 1:48 to go. The Jets inexplicably had 12 men on the field before the first snap, moving the ball to the 46.

A one-yard run by Henderson was followed by a holding penalty on Will Campbell, which pushed the ball back to the Patriots 37. Maye completed an eight-yard pass to Henderson, which was followed by a Jets’ penalty for illegal contact with 34 seconds to go.

Maye attempted to go deep to Kyle Williams, but it fell incomplete. Maye then hit Henderson for 10, Diggs for 12 more yards to the Jets’ 28 with nine seconds left. Henderson had a one-yard run before Borregales’ field goal miss.

After the teams traded punts to open the second half, Maye then led the Patriots on an excellent drive, going 4-4, capping off a 6-play, 69-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to Henderson, putting the Patriots up 21-7. On the drive, Maye completed a 17-yard pass to Mack Hollins, and then a 21-yard and an 18-yard pass to Stefon Diggs.

The Jets responded with a touchdown drive to cut the Patriots’ lead to 21-14, when they sent an all-out blitz at Fields, and Craig Woodson slipped and fell in coverage, leaving John Metchie all alone for an easy 22-yard score that Fields couldn’t miss.

Maye led the team down for a field goal, making it 24-14. And then a bad snap and resultant loose ball fumble was recovered by Anfernee Jennings at the Jets’ 11-yard line, resulting in another Borregales field goal finishing off the scoring at 27-14.

Other observations included:

-Maye finished 25-34 for 281 yards with a touchdown pass for a passer rating of 107.6.

-TreVeyon Henderson had a pair of touchdowns on Sunday, and topped that off with three more tonight, two seven-yard runs and a six-yard pass reception. Henderson had 93 yards total on 24 touches tonight.

-Will Campbell had a big game tonight, keeping Jets’ pass rusher Will McDonald from notching a sack after he had four on Sunday. Campbell did get one holding call, but it was a very solid effort.

-Stefon Diggs had a big game, catching nine passes for 105 yards. After the game, he reminded the players not to “Drink the Kool-Aid” and get ready to play the Bengals.

-Mack Hollins had another big game. After Sunday’s performance, he followed that up with four catches for 64 yards against the Jets.

-Kyle Williams had a forgettable night, going 0-3 when targeted tonight, once running the wrong route.

-Milton Williams injured his ankle, returned for a short spell, and then left for good. His injury will bear watching before the Bengals’ game next Sunday.

-Christian Barmore notched his first sack of the season. He’s been close several times with over 30 pressures this year, but finally got home. Elijah Ponder got the Patriots’ other sack, his second in as many games.

-The team did a woeful job of setting the edge against Fields’ running. This will be a particular teaching point with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens coming up on the schedule in a few weeks.

-Khyiris Tonga played more fullback tonight. It is a matter of time before Josh McDaniels uses him as a runner or receiver in a short-yardage or goalline situation this year.

Look for our positional report card in Sunday’s column, and then…We’re on to Cincinnati…Where have I heard that before?

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About Steve Balestrieri

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)

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Tags: Adonai Mitchell Breece Hall Christian Barmore Demario Douglas Drake Maye Hunter Henry John Metchie III Justin Fields Khyiris Tonga Mack Hollins Mike Vrabel Milton Williams New England Patriots New York Jets Stefon Diggs TreVeyon Henderson

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JimK

6 months ago

I’ve not heard anyone dissect why the pats D gives up a scoring drive to start the game then goes into shutdown mode thereafter. I assume they play a vanilla conservative soft zone and see what the opponent comes out with (guess), but dang, it’s not good to be down on the scoreboard. Hollins is one story of several that are nothing short of great player personnel moves. Hollins blocks in the run game; is good in the red zone at 6’4″, and is generally a good WR. Yet the Pats got him for little. Same with Chaisson, Bradbury, Hawkins,… Read more »