Everything you need to know from the Patriots’ victory over the Jets in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
HEADLINES
Monday Night MOOD.@budlight | #BudLightCelly pic.twitter.com/Sj3x0sBO50
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 10, 2020
Losing streak is over: Patriots trailed the winless Jets 20-10 at halftime, and 27-17 into the middle of the fourth but they found a way to rally for 13 points and their first win in four games (Sept. 17 vs. Las Vegas). Cam Newton also delivered a game-tying and winning drive. He had been 0 for 3 in previous situations this season (Seattle, Denver, Buffalo).
"This game builds character," said Newton. "We were resilient."
TURNING POINT
Jackson's INT. It was a dumb call by the Jets and it led to two final drives where they ran four plays and took up 1:24 on the clock. It was Jackson’s fourth straight game with an INT.
"That's a position where you need to have a short memory," said Belichick.
Big play by Mr. INT.
Watch live: https://t.co/mF8ODVppkR pic.twitter.com/oWfciABTGI
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 10, 2020
SECOND GUESS
It ended up working out, but the QB sneak by Cam Newton with 22 seconds left with the ball on their own 47 was not the right call. The Patriots had just one timeout left, and clocking the ball left them with just 8 seconds remaining.
If they didn't complete a 20-yard pass to Meyers, the Patriots would not have had another play before kicking a field goal.
That was lucky. That wasn't a good strategy. There should have been a pass on third down, fourth down if necessary, and first down. There was time for that. The sneak left them with just one way to win the game (plus overtime).
Maybe the Patriots weren't afraid of overtime with the Jets ... whatever it was, the Patriots were lucky there.
THREE UP
WR Jakobi Meyers: The birthday boy was a Golden God at MetLife and his performance will lead to an entire week of, "WHY WASN'T HE PLAYIN' BEFORE THIS, COME'ON BILL!!"
QB Cam Newton: The team still doesn't trust him at all — it's like watching him QB in a straitjacket — but he was solid (27 of 35 for 274 yards and a 99 rating).
K Nick Folk: Booted all three of his field goals, including the game-winner from 51 as time expired, and three extra points. Not bad for an old guy who didn't practice Saturday with a bad back.
THREE DOWN
CB Jason McCourty: At one point, he was 4 of 4 for 69 yards and a touchdown allowed, and had a pass interference penalty.
CB JC Jackson: His late INT keeps him from the top spot, but he still bad with four catches and 2 TDs allowed and 97 yards.
C David Andrews: Not sure how his entire game was, but Andrews appeared to have some rough stretches, including the 4th and 1 play where James White was met in the backfield by Quinnen Williams and fumbled.
INJURIES
RB Damien Harris (chest) did not return.
OT Isaiah Wynn (ankle) did return.
Jets LT and first-round pick Mehki Becton left early with an injury and didn't return. That was a big blow to the Jets.
TWO TAKES BEDARD WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Stop with the tanking talk: Yeah, we all had a little fun with it during the game, but any Patriots team by Bill Belichick is not going to lose on purpose during the regular (except in a meaningless finale) in hopes of getting a better draft pick. That is not how you maintain a culture in that building. A lot of problems could result from that.
Man, the talent is sorely lacking: You could make a lot of arguments that the Jets are a more talented team than the Patriots, especially if Sam Darnold was on the field. The Patriots were in a rock fight with a winless team in front of no fans ... that's a sight not many of us would see. It was disappointing to see guys like Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Kyle Dugger and Chase Winovich not get much playing time for a while in favor of guys like Terez Hall. Would like to see the kids play a bit more. It's not like the defense is playing great as is. And you saw what Meyers did when he finally got a chance.