Patriots put the chill on Jets in 26-6 blowout to finish regular season taken at Gillette Stadium (Patriots)

(Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

Patriots

Patriots put the chill on Jets in 26-6 blowout to finish regular season

By Christopher Price

Dec 31, 2017 • 11:20 am

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FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots closed out 2017 in style Sunday, smothering the Jets 26-6 and cementing the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC in front of a frozen crowd at Gillette Stadium.

Playing in near sub-zero temps, New England was sluggish in the early stages of the second quarter, but a first-quarter touchdown and a pair of late second-quarter scores were more than enough to create some distance against the Jets, who were kept out of the end zone all afternoon.

The Patriots got another dynamite performance from Dion Lewis, who put an exclamation point on a career-best regular-season with a pair of touchdowns. Lewis finished the day with 26 carries for 93 yards and one rushing touchdown and six catches for 40 yards and one receiving touchdown. Tom Brady was 18-for-37 for 190 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, while Brandin Cooks added five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.

On the other side of the ball, Bryce Petty went 19-for-36 for 232 yards. The Jets were 0-for-12 on third down.

New England never trailed on the day, taking a 7-0 lead on Lewis’ 3-yard run midway through the first. The Jets cut it to four late in the opening quarter on the first of two field goals on the day from Chandler Catanzaro, and appeared to be in the game midway through the second after slowing the Patriots offense on multiple drives.

But New England broke out with impressive back-to-back drives at the end of the second quarter. Cooks had a 5-yard touchdown reception with just over four minutes remaining in the second, and the Pats added to that with a 5-yard pass play to Lewis with 20 seconds left in the half to made it 21-3 at the break.

Whether it was more about the cold or the state of each defense, the scoring was way down in the second half. The two teams traded field goals (Stephen Gostkowski’s was a 21-yarder, while Catanzaro had a 35-yarder with 10:28 left in the game), and Eric Lee put the capper on the day with a safety with 6:04 left in the game to finish the scoring.

Two interesting notes: Rob Gronkowski did not catch a pass on the day. And newcomer James Harrison saw sporadic action working as a defensive end but finished with a pair of sacks at the end of the game to put the capper on a wild week for the former Steeler.

Game updates...



4:10 p.m.: ANOTHER one.

4:09 p.m.: Good motor there by Harrison. First sack with the Patriots.

4:06 p.m.: Under-the-radar development: Rob Gronkowski will finish the regular season with 69 catches.

4:01 p.m.: Two-minute warning. The only question now? Can the Pats keep them out of the end zone.

3:59 p.m.: Good day for the Patriots' punt coverage team. Slater and Allen and the rest of them did well tilting the field.

3:58 p.m.: Not a great finish to the year for a Jets team that did a good job showing some scrap for a sizable portion of the season. Especially when you take a 12-men on the field call in this situation.

3:53 p.m.: Looks like it's Brian Hoyer time.

3:52 p.m.: Eric Lee with the safety. 26-6 with 6:04 left in the regular season.

3:50 p.m.: This place is starting to empty out, and I can't say as I blame these folks. Shoutout to hanging around in the cold on a day like today.

3:38 p.m.: Jets are 0-10 on third down. Field goal is good -- 24-6 with 10:28 left in regulation.

3:37 p.m.: McCourty inches away from that pick.

3:35 p.m.: After the penalty on Gilmore, Jonathan Jones is beaten by Petty for Stewart on that deep ball. Bad back-to-back plays for the New England secondary.

3:32 p.m.: Harrison has a plastic play-call sheet on his belt, sort of like what a quarterback has on his arm. Checking it in the huddle.

3:30 p.m.: Jets writer in back of me just said after Slater downed that punt: "That's why he's going to the Pro Bowl."

3:29 p.m.: Something didn't work there. This is a LITTLE like watching a preseason game in that they are trying some things we might not usually see.

3:26 p.m.: So it's safe to say that one of the things New England wanted to accomplish today was establish more of an in-game rapport between Brady and Cooks. Mixed results -- especially in the cold -- but it's good, especially after that deep ball.

3:23 p.m.: End of the third quarter. 24-3 Patriots.

3:19 p.m.: Starting to see the Patriots put guys on pitch counts. McCourty starting to ramp down. Not sure we saw Gronkowski on that last offensive series either.

3:18 p.m.: Brady: 16-31, 145 yards, 2 TDs
Amendola: 4 catches, 43 yards
Cooks: 4 catches, 42 yards, 1 TD
Lewis, 5 catches, 32 yards, 1 TD
Lewis: 24 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD

3:15 p.m.: 21-yarder is good. 24-3 with 1:29 left in the third quarter.

3:12 p.m.: One of the things that we're seeing today more and more is the idea that the Patriots are trying to get some guys who might not be starters some extra time, because when it comes to the playoffs, you never know what's going to happen. Hollister, Harrison, Dorsett, Bolden (although that's more out of necessity than design), etc.

3:05 p.m.: Johnson Bademosi, that card.




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Time for the foosball...


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Need some pregame reading? Here are the best links of the week:
























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