Savvy, Heart, Grit: Patriots offense finds a way in comeback win behind Newton, Meyers

Is good enough against the New York Jets ... good enough?

After weeks of frustration, field goals and turnovers, the New England Patriots played their best offensive football since Week 2 at Seattle, driving past the winless Jets, 30-27.

The Patriots played with savvy – Jakobi Meyers exploited every giant crevice in Gregg Williams' soft, lifeless zone defense to the tune of 12 catches for 169 yards.

“For him to be morphing into the player he is today, it’s just about the hard work he’s put in,” said Cam Newton, himself like Meyers a native of the Atlanta area.

They played tough – both Damien Harris and Rex Burkhead barreled fearlessly into the Jets defensive front, churning out a combined 127 yards on 26 rushes. The 4.9 yards a carry was much more about reckless abandon than it was scheme.

And they played with heart – Newton, a wreck against Denver and San Francisco and the wrong kind of goat fumbling away the game at Buffalo last week, had plenty of opportunities to pack it in on Monday night.

Former Patriots linebacker Harvey Langi seemed to have a homing signal on Newton’s No. 1. The QB took repeated shots and withstood the onslaught. Mentally, he hung tough and made plays.

“The last couple games kind of build character … being resilient, being able to battle back as an offense,” said Newton. “As an offense, our job is to put up points. For us to put up 30 points, it’s just what’s expected of you to do.”

You can be darn sure when Bill Belichick hands out his game balls for the locker, Cam will find one in his locker.

This football team has remained courageous.

A week ago was the battered defensive backs, outsized and outmanned in Buffalo, stepping up to tackle oncoming rushers after taking a pounding. On Monday night, it was Newton, facing the heat and refusing to relent.

“I’m getting tired of sucking. It’s simple,” Newton vented after the win. “This offense thrives when we just keep the pressure on the defense.”

The combatants clearly walked away with a good taste.

“It’s definitely something we can build on,” said Meyers. “We showed a lot of fight and a lot of toughness.”

Meyers’ career night lasted right through New England’s final offensive snap – a 20-yard connection from Newton that set up the colossal Nick Folk 51-yard game-winning kick.

Meyers had entered the game with 11 catches on the season but was clearly coming on, with 10 of those grabs in the last two losses to San Francisco and Buffalo.

Newton threw the football 35 times on Monday night. Fourteen times, he targeted Meyers, the undrafted second-year man out of North Carolina State.

“It was a fun game, I’m not going to lie,” said Meyers.

“It was a great opportunity … I’m just a young guy trying to take advantage of my opportunity.”

Meyers isn’t fast (4.63 40-yard dash time coming out of college). He isn’t physically imposing at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. He simply understands the cerebral part of the game, and that was clear and evident against a scurrying Jets secondary.

“Jakobi has done a good job for us all year,” said Belichick. “He’s been a good route runner, really understands coverages and timing, and when to be open on the route, and how to take advantage of different coverages and leverages.”

The New England offense had just 10 points in the first half and hit the break down 10.

If any part of this season was to be salvaged, a 13-point third-quarter deficit had to be erased.

All the Patriots did was possess the football for 13:36 out of the final 15 minutes, mounting three scoring drives to keep the blood flowing on the season.

“They put together several long drives, several key plays, third down, fourth down, red area,” said Belichick.

At the end of the day, all these Patriots’ heroics have to be tempered. Meyers and Newton torched the 29^th rated pass defense in the game. And New England’s 30 points were right on the average allowed by New York (29.8). Newton’s two sound passing games this year have come against the game’s worst pass defense (Seattle) and winless New York.

But the offense came through when it had to – with just enough – and for that, the Patriots season perseveres on.

“It shows the strength we have,” said Burkhead. “We’re not going to quit. We’re not going to lay down.”