New York Jets vs. New England Patriots: New York Grades, Notes & Quotes
The opportunity was there. It was the first chance for the Jets to take command in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. One touchdown, and all on the visiting sideline of Gillette Stadium could taste first place in the AFC East.
Fitzpatrick dropped back on third down at the New England 12-yard line. He looked right, locked onto to Brandon Marshall and fired a pass in his direction.
Marshall dropped it, the Jets kicked a field goal and New England followed with 14 unanswered to ice a 30-23 victory over New York.
“It’s frustrating because we lost,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said after the game. “Nobody wants to lose, especially us. We have to look at the film, we gotta get over it.”
Throughout the majority of Sunday’s contest, both the Jets and Patriots took turns trading punches. One would strike, the other would follow, and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that a team held a two-possession lead.
In the first quarter, it was New England that struck first off a 38-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski set up by a Ryan Fitzpatrick fumble. A possession later, the Jets tied things at three with a field goal of their own, and after forcing a Patriots punt, took their first lead of the day.
Beginning at their own 17-yard line, the Jets marched 83 yards on 14 plays before Fitzpatrick connected with receiver Jeremy Kerley on a two-yard score.
“I felt like we had them,” Jets guard Willie Colon told B/R’s Eric Frenz.
With the Jets leading by seven, New England tied things two possessions later when quarterback Tom Brady scored on a one-yard touchdown run. On the Patriots' next drive, Gostkowski kicked his second field goal of the game. On the first drive of the second half, another Gostkowski field goal put New England up 16-13.
With nearly all the momentum on New England’s sideline, Fitzpatrick, who finished 22-of-39 for 295 yards with a pair of scores, marched the Jets 80 yards in 13 plays, capping the drive with a nine-yard touchdown to running back Chris Ivory.
The score put the Jets up by four, and after forcing a Patriots punt, the ball was again put in Fitzpatrick’s hands to potentially start closing the coffin. It took New York just eight plays to march 71 yards. But on the ninth, Marshall’s drop kept New England in it.
“It would have been a tough catch,” Bowles said,” (Marshall) is capable of making those catches. He just didn’t come down with it.”
Brady touchdown passes to Danny Amendola and Gronkowski on New England’s next two possessions put the team up 10 with just over four minutes to play.
While the Jets were able to get a field goal with 55 seconds left and recover an onside kick, a procedural penalty by Brandon Marshall on the final play of the game resulted in a 10-second runoff and ended any comeback attempt.
“It’s one game,” Bowles said. “We’re gonna move on and get ready for next week and Oakland.”
The victory for New England improved the team’s record to a perfect 6-0. The Jets, meanwhile, fell to 4-2. New York will travel to face the Oakland Raiders next Sunday while the Patriots will host the Miami Dolphins.
Position Grades for New York Jets
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | B |
| RB | C |
| WR | C |
| TE | C- |
| OL | C- |
| DL | C |
| LB | C |
| DB | D |
| ST | C- |
| Coaching | C |
Quarterback: Ryan Fitzpatrick is starting to find his groove with the Jets offense. Maybe it’s his running that’s a reason why? When plays weren’t there through the air, he didn’t force the issue, he simply ran. Fitzpatrick did fumble once, but overall, he was solid, good even. The stat line tells that story: 22/39, 295 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions; five rushes for 29 yards. B
Running Backs: With Chris Ivory dealing with a hamstring injury, the Jets struggled to get much of anything going on the ground. Ivory managed just 41 yards on 17 carries, while Zac Stacy rushed seven times for 19 yards. C
Receivers: Brandon Marshall's (four receptions, 67 yards) mental miscues hurt the Jets and overshadow a nice day from Eric Decker (six receptions, 94 yards). C
Tight Ends: Jeff Cumberland caught a pass, which was an improvement, but a poor effort on a second-down pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth that could have resulted in a first down bring this grade down. C-
Offensive Line: Few rushing lanes, and Ryan Fitzpatrick was sacked twice. C-
Defensive Line: Tom Brady was the Patriots leading rusher with four carries for 15 yards and a score. Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson each had sacks, and Richardson had a forced fumble. Still, in the second half when the Jets needed plays on defense, the line didn’t make them. C
Linebackers: Again, this grade is largely handed down because when the Jets needed a play late, no one stepped up. David Harris was in the area that allowed a 27-yard gain on 3rd-and-17. C
Cornerbacks: Rob Gronkowski caught 11 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown while Danny Amendola caught eight for 86 and a score. Julian Edelman was stranded on "Revis Island" for the majority of the game but still caught five passes for 54 yards. In the second half, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had his way and finished 34-of-54 for 355 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions. C-
Special Teams: Nick Folk was good, finishing 3-for-3 including a 55-yard kick. Steve Weatherford was not, with net kicks of 30 and 31 yards that led to two Patriots scoring drives. C-
Coaching: Questionable non-use of timeouts? Calling a soft zone on 3rd-and-17? This wasn’t the best game for Bowles and his coaching staff. C
Brandon Marshall Hurts Jets in Loss to Patriots
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For the large portion of Brandon Marshall’s short Jets career, the wideout has been everything general manager Mike Maccagnan and head coach Todd Bowles could have wanted. He’s been dynamic, impactful and a force to be reckoned with.
But on Sunday, Marshall was one of the reasons the Jets fell to 4-2, instead of improving to 5-1.
“My A** should be walking back to New York,” Marshall tweeted after the game.
Facing a third down at the Patriots 12-yard line, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick went Marshall’s way with a back-shoulder throw. Marshall turned around in time and got both hands on the ball but dropped it.
While Marshall’s drop was key, another error by the wideout ended any potential comeback for the Jets. With the Patriots up 10, Fitzpatrick got the Jets into field goal range for kicker Nick Folk. After the 55-yard attempt went right down the middle, New York recovered an onside kick.
Setting up at the Patriots 49-yard line, Bowles felt the Jets needed a few extra yards before the team could attempt a "Hail Mary." The Jets got 12 on a pass to Eric Decker, but on the ensuing spike, Marshall failed to get set.
The result was a procedural penalty, followed by a 10-second run off. The game was over. Marshall has been one of the better acquisitions by the Jets this year, and there’s no denying he’s still one of the more important players on the team’s roster. But on Sunday, Marshall was one of those that cost the Jets a shot at a victory.
Jets Back Broken on Patriots 3rd-and-Long Conversion
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This was the position the Jets defense wanted to be in. This was where they were supposed to thrive.
In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady set up in the shotgun looking at a 3rd-and-17. The Jets, at the time, were leading by three. A stop would give the ball right back to the team’s offense, which was coming off drives of nine and 13 plays.
All New York had to do was prevent New England from getting 17 yards.
Brady connected with Julian Edelman down the seam for 27.
Throughout the majority of the game, the Jets had covered Edelman with cornerback Darrelle Revis on each and every third-down play. But here, the team elected to change things up. In an attempt to give Brady a different look, the Jets ran a basic zone coverage.
Edelman wasn’t on Revis, but rather David Harris. Brady simply dropped back and found the hole in the zone. The ball was put over Harris’ head and in front of safety Dion Baily.
“(Brady) just made a good play,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “We were playing cat-and-mouse with him. We can’t give him what he wants all the time. We were trying to do that all game, didn’t work that time.”
Five plays later, Brady connected with Danny Amendola for an eight-yard touchdown. New England never lost the lead after that.
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Steve Weatherford Less-Than Spectacular in Jets Debut
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Well, it was certainly a convenient situation for the Jets to have a free-agent punter waiting in Hoboken, New Jersey, when theirs was suddenly injured.
On Saturday, Jets players arrived at the team’s facility for their weekly walkthrough. Once there, it was discovered that punter Ryan Quigley injured his shin. According to Bowles postgame press conference, Quigley’s shin was swollen and black and blue despite no injury having taken place. He didn’t bang it in the Jets victory over the Washington Redskins a week ago, or at all during practice, or even at home. The coach assumed it had something to do with medication.
As a result, Weatherford was signed. Against the Patriots, New York missed Quigley.
In a difficult situation, Weatherford struggled. And early on, his struggles led to Patriots points. On his first kick, Weatherford’s punt went just 31 yards. New England started that drive at the Jets 47 and scored a touchdown 11 plays later. Weatherford’s second kick traveled further but was a line drive. Julian Edelman returned it 17 yards to set the Patriots up at their own 41 yard line. Seven plays later, New England kicked a field goal.
Weatherford’s two poor kicks set the Patriots up with great field position and led to 10 points. Back-breaking? No. But in a game decided by just a score, it hurt.
Moral Victory? Maybe Not, but the Jets Are for Real
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If nothing else, this game against the New England Patriots was a chance for Todd Bowles and the Jets to show the rest of the NFL they’re for real.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock in Sunday’s 30-23 defeat, they had done just that.
New York gave New England everything it had, and had it not been for receiver Brandon Marshall’s drop and a Patriots 3rd-and-17 conversion, the team may have won. The defense had its moments, the offense was solid enough and the Jets as a whole were just a couple bad breaks away from pulling the upset.
“They played better situational football than we did,” Bowles said. “We’ll watch the film, correct the mistakes and move on.”
The Jets' prior four victories this season had come against opponents that weren’t exactly Super Bowl favorites. The unit beat the Cleveland Browns in the season opener, the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, the Miami Dolphins at their lowest and the Washington Redskins.
The Patriots were their first real test. And while they didn’t get the win, they still earned a passing grade.
These aren’t the Jets from years past. These aren’t the Jets that will hurt themselves, play dumb football or make more mental mistakes than any in the league. They’re solid, fundamentally sound. They have a capable offense and elite-level defense.
The Jets are good. And everyone else in the AFC, eh, make that the NFL, is beginning to take notice.
Todd Bowles on Jets Handling Defeat to Patriots
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“We should be upset we lost. We lost. You show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser. We’re gonna stew over it. We’re gonna stew over it for a night, and the next day we’ll get ready for Oakland.” - Todd Bowles
In the past, this was the Jets Super Bowl. Under Todd Bowles, Sunday’s game against the Patriots was just that…a game against the Patriots.
When one regular-season game is hyped as much as this battle has been in the past, and then that battle is lost, it takes a toll on the team. Bowles has made it his mission to never have one game mean more than the next.
The Jets won’t enjoy this game and certainly aren’t happy about the defeat. But after figuring out what the team did wrong, it’s on to the next.
Chris Ivory on Early-Game Absence
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“It’s tough, man. For something to happen on the first drive, it’s real tough. I was able to work through it and finish the game. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but onto the next week.” - Chris Ivory
It was the glaring omission from the Jets offense on the team’s second drive of the game. Not once, even with the ball resting at the Patriots 1-yard line, was running back Chris Ivory in the game. Even after running for over 300 yards in the last two games, Ivory was on the sideline.
What was wrong? Ivory said after the game he tweaked his hamstring on the second play of the game.
While Ivory did return, he wasn’t himself. The back gained just 41 yards on 17 carries. He was asked what exactly went wrong and how tough it was to not be able to go 100 percent.
Todd Bowles on Jets' Timeout Non-Usage
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“We were trying to call them if we made a stop. We didn’t stop them. It was a 2nd-and-2, or 2nd-and-3, we could have called a timeout, but it didn’t make any sense since they were moving the ball right there. We tried to get a stop to call one, but we never got the stop.” - Todd Bowles
One more from Jets coach Todd Bowles. On the Patriots' final possession, one that ended in a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, there was a mysterious non-use of timeouts from the Jets.
Even with two, three minutes to play, the Jets sat on their timeouts as the Patriots let second after second tick off the clock.
After the game, Bowles was asked why. His answer? It’s above.
Connor Hughes is the New York Jets beat writer for the Journal Inquirer and Scout.com. All quotes, practice observations and advanced stats referenced are gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Connor can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes) or via email (Connor_j_hughes@yahoo.com)
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