See big play. Blame cornerbacks.
Rinse and repeat. Welcome to NFL Sundays (and Mondays).
People tuning into the Patriots' eventual 30-27 victory over the Jets watched with horror as the Corpse of Joe Flacco lit up the Patriots for three touchdowns and a 128.7 passer rating despite throwing an interception.
A 50-yard bomb to Breshad Perriman over JC Jackson.
Denzel Mims for 26 yards.
A 23-yard touchdown to Jamison Crower.
A 41-yard pass interference penalty on Jason McCourty.
And there was more. Flacco averaged 10.5 yards per attempt.
Naturally, the conventional wisdom out of that game was, "Guess JC Jackson isn't that good ... Guess we should hang on to Stephon Gilmore. ... Jason McCourty is stealing money."
Some or any of that may be true ... but this wasn't a game to trot out that storyline.
This game wasn't about the back end of the Patriots' defense. In what is becoming a constant theme this season — and a fear going forward — it was about the front end.
The Patriots just can't get any pressure on the quarterback — even after the Jets' man-child left tackle Mekhi Becton left with an injury (he was rag-dolling Deatrich Wise up until then like Wise was a 150-pound pipsqueak — and No. 91 is not that).
On just about every big play the Jets had, the Patriots tried to bring some sort of pressure, they didn't get within 3 yards of Flacco and he picked them apart. Take a look:
