EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - No excuses, no naps, and no nonsense from the Patriots on Sunday at a lifeless MetLife Stadium. Despite a long list of starters and key contributors not being in the lineup, the Pats delivered a thorough beatdown of the Jets. It was the kind of performance we’ve seen from the Pats in their glorious past, and seeing it again in the present is the gift that keeps on giving.
Challenged without his starting left tackle, left guard, and two of his top three wideouts, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels crafted a brilliant plan (albeit against a defense that long ago lost their soul). On the opening drive, McDaniels called seven plays out of seven different personnel groupings (they all worked), leaning on the run game. Later, the Pats' offensive coordinator spread the Jets out a little bit more, but every lever he pulled seemed to be the right call in the right moment. New York was so off-balance and, eventually, so overwhelmed that I detected the heavy odor of surrender (for those unaware, it smells like Newark).
“What Josh and the offensive staff were able to do, managing guys and different personnel and using everybody was really good,” Mike Vrabel said (yes, complimenting McDaniels).
“I go through ‘em every Friday night,” Drake Maye said of the playsheet. “I star the ones that I like, that we like, and I feel like can get us a first down. I starred a lot of them this week.”
“I can't say enough good things about Josh,” Hunter Henry smiled. “I was so glad that he came back this year, and then it's just been a blast to play for him. When he gets dialed in and locked in, he's pretty hard to beat.”
The Patriots had five first-half possessions. All five went 60-plus yards, and all ended up in the end zone. Read’ em and weep (those are happy years):
- 7 plays, 61 yards, 4:18 time of possession
- 7 plays, 85 yards, 4:07
- 7 plays, 66yards, 3:40
- 11 plays, 74 yards, 6:55
- 10 plays, 91 yards, 1:17
The last possession was an important one, even in a lopsided game. It was a two-minute drive authored by Maye. It stands to reason that at some point in the playoffs, this offense may find itself in a two-minute got-to-have-it spot. In this case, they barely used over a minute, but went the length of the field. The drive got kick-started by a roughing-the-passer penalty on the first set of downs (more on that in a second), then it was a surgical procedure that removed the Jets' last essential organs. Maye wisely took the check downs when they were there, found Stefon Diggs all alone for 26 yards, then finished the drive off by buying time with his legs before hitting a wide open Henry. for his fourth TD pass in the half.
“Just trying to be smart with the football,” Vrabel said, admitting the penalty changed his approach to that drive. “Get the first 1st down and get into the drive, and that created good enough field position to keep going. I thought they did a really good the time and timeouts and moving parts. And once you get into two minutes, you only have a couple of receivers, so you kind of get creative. And we had two backs in there at times, two tight ends in there at times, so I thought that was really good.”
It was also the kind of answer Vrabel appreciated after Jermaine Johnson hit Maye around the head on the first third-down of the drive, the one that drew the penalty. The head coach was on the field the moment he saw his quarterback down, and though no one would confirm, it appeared he said something to the Jets defense.
“I don't really know, but that's who he is,” Morgan Moses said. “Man, I mean, you seen multiple pictures throughout the season, in training camp, where he's diving in when fights are happening and things like that. That's who he is as a person. Man, that's what he preaches to us every day.”
“It makes you want to run through a wall,” Diggs said. “He's aggressive. He's always aggressive. It's crazy because he's a defensive guy, so that aggression kind of translates into coaching. So for us...you know your coach is gonna be behind you.”
That’s the kind of edge Vrabel has brought to this team, and it has filtered down from one to 53 on the roster (practice squad guys, too). Hell, Vrabel had to pull Christian Barmore out of a scrum at the end of the half, and Barmore was still hot over it after the game, wondering where the Jets locker room was and using colorful language (some teammates were laughing). Over the last few seasons, the Pats were a team that too often wilted at the first sign of adversity and pointed fingers. Now? Their unrelenting pressure does the same to the opposition.
“We have an identity that we’ve shown,” Vrabel said.
“He holds everybody to the same standard,” noted Diggs. “Whether you're an A player or B player, he holds everybody to the same standard. He wants you to give it everything you got on every play, and it's always gonna come down to effort and finish with your teammates. How good a teammate are you? Are you throwing an extra block here, or are you going the extra mile for your guy? So that’s my favorite thing.”
Maye finished the first half 17-of-19 for 229 yards and four touchdown passes (overall, 19-of-21, 256 yards and 5 TDs for the game), while the Patriots out-gained the gangrenous Jets 344 to 77 and had 23 first downs to their 4. The 32-point halftime lead (35-3) matched the largest by the Pats since week 12 of 2012. That also happened here at MetLife, though that came on Thanksgiving night. You might remember it more as the game known for the “Butt fumble.”
November 22nd, 2012: The Butt Fumble #nfl pic.twitter.com/4TS9erZd23
— Boston Sports Throwback (@BOSthrowback) November 22, 2021
Once again, the joke’s on the Jets, but the Patriots have once again put themselves in position to be the joke teller, rule maker, and heartbreaker. And if you ask them, the season is just starting and there are still more lessons to be learned and to be taught.