Jets Can Find Positives in Narrow Loss to Patriots

It's hard to find positives in a 1-6 start to the season, but the New York Jets showed on national television that, despite losing to the New England Patriots on a last-second blocked field goal, this team is not as awful as they've shown in the first half of the season.

There are no moral victories in football, but a 27-25 defeat to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium is hardly worth hanging their heads in shame over.

The Jets came out with a game plan and executed it beautifully. They ran the ball down the Patriots' throats for 218 yards on 43 carries—an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Their defensive line gave the Patriots problems in the running game and forced the Patriots into long-yardage situations.

The Jets were so successful running the ball, it became a wonder that they would even consider throwing.

"I have to give credit to our backs," said Jets left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson after the game. "They did a great job today. Chris Ivory, Chris Johnson, they went out and had phenomenal individual performances. We were just excited how we came out today. We made an emphasis during practice and were able to execute and perform well on the ground. We always go out there and we are a competitive team. We realize each game is going to be a battle. We just try to fight our best."

Jets head coach Rex Ryan took a lot of grief for his devotion to the ground-and-pound offensive mentality early in his tenure as head coach, but the Jets proved that it can be an effective part of their offense. Their interior linemen regularly moved Patriots defensive tackles Vince Wilfork, Chris Jones and Casey Walker off the ball, creating huge holes up front. 

And when the holes weren't there, Ivory used his low pad level to clean out any leftover defenders who might be standing in his way. The Jets may lack talent at several positions on offense but running back is not one of them—not as long as Ivory is in the backfield.

The bigger question is at quarterback, where Geno Smith gave some signs of hope. Granted, he'll have to do it for much longer than just one week if he is to put to rest any doubts about his competence as the starting quarterback, but he showed poise in the pocket, evading pressure and buying himself more time to complete throws. His final stat line (20-of-34, 226 yards, one touchdown, 88.6 passer rating) indicates a serviceable but unspectacular performance.

He also made good decisions when running with the ball, with seven carries for 37 yards.

Smith's play will have to improve and become more consistent at some point but tonight's performance showed that he has it in him.

In some ways, it's up to Smith to change the fortunes of this team—and of its coach. Ryan may end up taking the fall for the Jets' lack of talent, and the quarterback position has been the one that's hurt him the most during his New York tenure. That wasn't the case tonight.

Instead, it was the defense that let him down.

Yes, they made plays in the running game and held the Patriots to only 63 rushing yards on 15 carries. But they gave up too many big plays in too many key spots.

A long 49-yard touchdown catch by running back Shane Vereen came just one minute and 20 seconds into the game. Danny Amendola delivered a back-breaker on 3rd-and-goal from the 19-yard line, climbing over Jets cornerback Antonio Allen for a touchdown catch that looked like it very well could have broken Amendola's back. 

"It was just terrible because the offense did a hell of a job," said Jets linebacker Calvin Pace. "We just gave up too many plays. It was a lot of situations where I just want to say positive things about what our offense did tonight. We didn't play bad defensively, but we didn't play well enough against a team like New England. Little things turn into big things."

If the Jets had stopped one or both of those big plays from turning into scores, the offense's efforts wouldn't have gone unrewarded.

Instead, this is just another blip on the radar of a tough season for the Jets, and a season that could prove to be the last for their coach.

The Jets' playoff hopes are all but dashed. They would be in exclusive company to turn around from a 1-6 start to make the postseason—because they would be the first team to ever accomplish that feat.

But with games against the Buffalo Bills (3-3), Kansas City Chiefs (2-3), and Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3) before the bye, there are some opportunities for the Jets to inch their way closer to .500. Unfortunately, another .500 season may not be enough to save Ryan.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained first-hand.

Follow @ErikFrenz