EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - The anthem "We Will Rock You" blared from the MetLife speakers early in the third quarter, and the in-house video screens showed Jets fans at various levels of happiness. I could have done without the repeated shots of Fireman Ed, but on this night, he and the rest of his minions were at their insufferable best — and had every right to be. The Patriots could do nothing to quell that euphoria or the noise that accompanied it.
"Look, not good in any phase of the game," said Jerod Mayo.
"We got our ass kicked," said Jabril Peppers.
"(We're) one and two," added Keion White. "It's unacceptable. Losing is not to be tolerated."
It was 14-3, Jets at halftime, and ended at 24-3, but that score is too kind. The Pats were outgained 400-139, surrendered 27 first downs, and allowed over 40 minutes of possession time. Those are not typos (though I've been known to have a few). That was the hard, cold reality, which, on this night, bit. At this point, this team is much more who we thought they were this summer than the one that managed to win at Cincinnati.
At some point this week, ESPN analyst Mina Kimes (she's not the only one, just the last one I saw) was out there talking about this defense like they were an elite unit, somehow glossing over the fact that Geno Smith threw for 327 yards against it last weekend. That was the most allowed by any team in the league in week two. I wonder how she (and they) feel now after seeing that mess?
This was a piss poor showing, replete with enough mistakes to keep them busy for the rest of the week/weekend/and well into next week.
There were blown edges against both the run and especially the pass. Prior to tonight, Aaron Rodgers hadn't completed a throw while outside the tackle box this season. I counted at least six such successful plays against the Pats.
"We just gotta rush better," said White. "Rush more as a cohesive unit. Four equals one. So if we're all on the same page, we're really good front. When we're not, and you have guys that's dropping off, me included, then what you have is a problem."
There were screwed-up coverages. Ty Conklin suddenly doing his best Travis Kelce impression. Now I've covered Travis Kelce. I know Travis Kelce. Conklin is no Travis Kelce, but the Pats sure made him look that way. Safety Kyle Dugger, who was responsible for the 56-yard busted coverage in the Seattle game, needed to carry Conklin down the seam late in the first half. He didn't. It resulted in an easy 22 yards (Dugger declined to speak after the game). Jahlani Tavai was pantsed by the same guy for another chunk play in the first half. Hell, it felt like Conklin was open every time Aaron Rodgers dropped back. That just can't be.
The Jets aren't known for being coordinated by an offensive wizard. Nathaniel Hackett is a creation of Rodgers' success, but he also found flaws in this DeMarcus Covington defense. He employed a lot of spread and empty sets in the opening half to great success. Rodgers can still put it where he wants, and he did that, finding favorable matchups and taking advantage of them. For example, diminutive slot receiver Xavier Gipson got Peppers for 11 yards on a 2nd and 10 just before the Jets' first TD. Gipson? Yes, Gipson. It was that kind of night.
But what really stood out to me was the number of missed tackles by Patriots' defenders, which was eye-opening. After blowing just 11 tackles over the first two weeks and allowing 34 yards off those misses (best in the league), the Pats whiffed at an absurd rate, with 14 such examples (and I think Next Gen Stats were being kind) for 100 additional yards. It wasn't just one guy. It was all the guys.
To wit:
- Marcus Jones was not big enough to take Allen Lazard down on a quick hitter to the wide receiver, which was good for 11 yards. So, the Pats tried Alex Austin on Lazard. Nope. That didn't work either, with Austin grasping desperately at a piece of Lazard's undershirt on his 10-yard TD catch.
- Raekwon McMillan, trying to fill the void created by Ja'Whaun Bentley, had a clean shot at Braelon Allen at the line of scrimmage. I don't think McMillan got a piece of the rookie runner. Another 11 yards.
- Even Jonathan Jones, as tough and smart and consistent a tackler as there is, got shaken by Lazard, who's not exactly the fleetest of foot, and turned a moderate gain into 27 yards.
If you can't tackle, you can't be a good defense. You can't be a tough team. You can't be what the remaining talent says you should be (yes, it should be much better than they've shown the last two weeks).
"Fourteen missed tackles," said Deatrich Wise. "That's uncharacteristic for our defense. Something that we definitely didn't foresee coming into this game. We felt like he was very prepared. And we came out here, and we knew what they were doing. We didn't execute."
"That's one of the things I 'm very disappointed in as a defensive-minded coach," said Mayo. "Especially the second level. We struggled all day as far as tackling. Once again, even when we hit them in the backfield, the lack of fundamentals, the lack of discipline, and the lack of just execution definitely continued to show up."
By the third quarter, the Pats defense was utterly unglued. They were picking fights with the Jets bench (White) and hitting Rodgers a second after he released the ball (Josh Uche). Then came the attrition. White got shaken up. Anfernee Jennings left the game. Peppers. Austin. A brutal night, with a brutal result and a long road ahead.
"We didn't play well at all," said Peppers. "Too many missed tackles, too many missed assignments, lack of hustle at times. Too uncharacteristic of us. From a man to a man, we know we got to play better. And we will."
The safety seemed willing that last part to happen, but he was shaken — they all were. And I don't blame them — not one bit.
