Jets – Patriots a defensive slugfest
The Jets – Patriots game was not the offensive showcase that most expect to see of the Patriots. Instead it was a defensive slugfest in which it could have gone either way until the very end when the Patriots finally prevailed 13-10. Here is some analysis for the game.
The Jets:
The Jets’ offense struggled for the most part in this game. Geno Smith went 15/35 for 214 yards and while in this kind of game those numbers may have been acceptable, the 4 sacks and
3 interceptions are not. Geno flashed at times, making a great throw to Santonio Holmes on a third down that helped the Jets get a FG in the first half (should have been a touchdown if not for a drop by the WR). He also struggled, throwing 3 costly interceptions that should not have been thrown in the first place. Also the Patriots defense seemed to have its way with him. Whenever there was pressure he would forget he is a QB and run for his life which ended up stalling drives that could have led to the game-winning points.
The one bright spot in the offense was the running game gained 129 yards on 32 carries and at times gave the Patriots fits. The O-line opened up holes and really stepped up after the poor play the week before. Stephen Hill made a great catch on a deep pass and has shown improvement since his rookie year. However he fumbled a great pass by Geno that ended up giving the Patriots the 3 points which turned out to be the crucial ones.
The defense of the Jets seemed to follow the pattern that the Bills laid out last week and try to make Brady uncomfortable. It worked for the most part, as Brady really struggled to get anything going and while they only had one sack, the Jets D kept the Jets in the game. They also stuffed the run and held the Patriots to 54 yards and were trying to make Brady and the rookie receivers beat him. While that may not have been the wisest strategy, it worked in this game.
Overall, the Jets should have won this game but turnovers cost them big time.
The Patriots:
The Patriots offense looked similar to last week. Brady had trouble completing passes and the pressure really seemed to bother him at times. Julian Edelman put the receiving core on his back and had 13 catches to show for it. The rookie receivers did not help and they made a bunch of crucial drops. Aaron Dobson should not even be playing and made numerous drops. Hopefully this is just early jitters for these rookies and it will be cleaned out by the time they really need them. Not helping was a run game which never seemed to do anything in this game.
The Pats defense really put the team on its back and won the game for the Patriots. They made Geno Smith very uncomfortable through the whole game. While they gave up some big passing plays they held the Jets when they needed to and took up the slack of the anemic offense. The only major concern may have been the run defense which had trouble stopping the Jets at times. This may have been from the Pats focusing on the pass or they just have trouble stopping the run.
While the Pats may have won this game, it did not feel like a win. The offense was awful at best and they really are facing the outcome of losing so many key weapons from the year before. The only optimism that can be taken from this is the defense played better and it may end up being what the team relies on, at least when the offense gets healthy and back to speed. Overall, this was an ugly game for the Patriots and there needs to be some changes soon or else the Super Bowl may be out of their reach.
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