New England Patriots vs. New York Jets: New York Grades, Notes and Quotes
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.— There was no doubt in New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick's mind where he was going with the football. The situation, the way the defense was lined up, his trust in teammate Eric Decker. The quarterback knew the moment the ball got to him, he was lofting it to the corner pylon where Decker would track it down.
"I had a ton of confidence," Fitzpatrick said. "The way that it was all set up to get Deck that throw was perfect."
The snap came to Fitzpatrick, he lofted the ball six yards to the corner pylon, and Decker tracked it down to give the Jets a walk-off, 26-20 overtime victory over the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium. The win improved New York's record to 10-5 and gave the team control of its playoff destiny.
"These last five weeks, they've all kind of been do-or-die games for us," Fitzpatrick said. "So that's kind of how we've approached each one. We didn't have much room for error, and so we've got to get the next one, get in and that's how we view it. This is a fun run."
While a loss to the Patriots wouldn't have eliminated the Jets from postseason contention, it would have put the team in an extremely difficult situation and needing an awful lot of help. As a result, the game was about as must-win as a non-must-win game can be.
Early on, the Jets played like that.
New York jumped in front early, building a 17-3 lead midway through the third quarter. Fitzpatrick, who finished with 296 passing yards, connected with wideout Brandon Marshall on a pair of scores. The first came on a quick strike from two yards out and the second on a 33-yard deep pass down the middle. Aside from the two touchdowns, Marshall finished with eight catches and 115 yards.
"He played big. He stepped up in a big game," Jets coach Todd Bowles said. "He made some tough, unbelievable catches with guys draped all over him. He came up big."
While the Jets had all the momentum, New England began to work itself back into the game in the third quarter. Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 44-yard field goal to cut the Jets lead to 11. Then on the next series, linebacker Jamie Collins returned a Fitzpatrick fumble 14 yards for a score.
After both teams exchanged a combined five punts, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady tied the game. The four-time Super Bowl winner took the Patriots on an 11-play, 66-yard drive that culminated with a James White nine-yard touchdown reception. On the drive, Brady converted a pair of fourth downs on passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Brady finished the game 22-of-31 for 231 yards with one touchdown. He was intercepted once by Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis. Gronkowski led the Patriots with 86 yards receiving.
"I felt like this is what it comes down to. This is big boy football right here," Marshall said after the Patriots score. "I wanted to beat them pretty bad, but you know that's hard to do in this league. I think most of the time, probably every Sunday, there's 10 or 12 games decided by two or three points. It's a tough game."
While both the Patriots and Jets touched the ball before the end of regulation, neither team was able to score, thus sending the game to overtime. Despite winning the coin toss, the Patriots elected to kick, giving the Jets the ball first.
New York wasted little time getting into scoring position. Fitzpatrick marched the Jets 80 yards in five plays, highlighted by a 48-yard catch-and-run by Quincy Enunwa and a 20-yard strike to Marshall. That set up Decker's game-winner.
"It was a good win for us," Bowles said. "Three of the last four weeks, we've been fighting and winning these types of games. So it helps out to win one against a quality team at our place."
The Jets will now travel to Orchard Park for their regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills. With a win, New York will qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2010.
Position Grades for New York Jets
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Quarterback: A
Ryan Fitzpatrick has simply been masterful this season—and remarkable these last five games. Against the Patriots, Fitzpatrick completed 26-of-41 passes for 296 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a completion percentage of 63 percent, a quarterback rating of 109.4 and ran twice for 13 yards. He's been on fire (13 touchdowns, one interception) the last month of the season, and he didn't exactly cool off against New England.
Running Backs: B+
Chris Ivory is still the Jets No. 1 back, but Bilal Powell may have passed him as the team's best back as of late. Powell rushed seven times for 56 yards (seven yards a carry) and caught five passes for 34 yards. Ivory wasn't bad, per se, but not overly good. He averaged just 3.5 yards per carry on 11 rushes. Against his former team, Stevan Ridley had his best game of the season with 36 yards on seven carries. In total, the Jets rushing game averaged 5.3 yards per carry and totaled 143 yards. Not bad.
Receivers: A
Brandon Marshall was, again, uncoverable, catching eight passes for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns despite the fact he was doubled all game. Eric Decker was quiet until catching the game-winning touchdown. He finished with three grabs for 47 yards. Quincy Enunwa dropped two passes but had a 48-yard catch-and-run up the sideline to set up the Decker game-winner. Kenbrell Thompkins made a few plays as well, with four catches for 27 yards.
Tight Ends: C
The Jets don't use their tight ends. They didn't use their tight ends on Sunday. No targets, no catches.
Offensive Line: B+
Fitzpatrick was sacked just once, the running game averaged 5.3 yards per carry, and for the majority of the game, New England was dominated up front. The Jets offensive line has been one of the more underrated aspects of the team this year.
Defensive Line: A
Tom Brady was under constant duress, New England didn't manage much of anything on the ground, and aside from one drive, the Patriots offense did nothing. Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson were each credited with quarterback hits, and Sheldon Richardson had a sack. Nice outing.
Linebackers: B
Really nice game from Jets rookie Lorenzo Mauldin who had a sack, tackle for a loss and quarterback hurry. Demario Davis and David Harris combined for 14 tackles. There is, though, one blemish on an otherwise solid outing from the group. Harris was abused by James White on the Patriots' game-tying touchdown in the fourth. For that, the grade drops.
Secondary: A
Sure, not having Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman hurt the Patriots Sunday, but that doesn't take anything away from the secondary as a whole. Darrelle Revis had an interception, while no Patriots receiver caught for more than 68 yards. The Jets also kept Rob Gronkowski in check. The big tight end snagged just four passes for 86 yards, 30 of which came on one play.
Special Teams: B+
Ryan Quigley averaged 47.8 yards per punt and downed two inside the 20, Jeremy Kerley had an eight-yard punt return and Randy Bullock connected on a 49-yard field goal. Coverage was solid too.
Coaching: A
The Jets beat the Patriots in every facet. They were better on offense, defense and special teams. They were called for just six penalties and turned the ball over just once. In a big game, the Jets played big.
Brandon Marshall Makes History (Again)
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It seems like each and every week, Jets receiver Brandon Marshall is breaking some form of franchise record. Against the Patriots, he did it again. But it wasn't just team records Marshall was shattering, it was league ones as well.
On Sunday, Marshall set the Jets franchise mark for receptions in a season and became the first player in team history to have 100 catches in a year. With 115 yards receiving, he also tied the franchise record for 100-yard games in a season with nine. His two touchdown catches brought his season total to 13, which is a new career high.
Now while that's all fine and dandy, and Marshall acknowledges he's honored to have those marks, one record broken Sunday holds a bit more meaning: With 101 receptions this year, Marshall is the first player in NFL history with six 100-catch seasons.
"That is special being the only guy to do that," Marshall said. "When I first got in the league, I didn't know any better. My first year, I had Rod Smith and Javon Walker in front of me and I was just a rookie trying to make the team. My second year, I had 100 catches.
"That became the standard. That's all I cared about. That's partly why I get so pissed off when the ball isn't coming to me because I thought that was the norm."
Since being traded to the Jets from the Bears in exchange for a fifth-round pick, Marshall has been just about everything the team could have hoped for and more. And including the records Marshall already has, he's closing in on even more.
This season, Marshall has 101 catches for 1,376 yards and 13 touchdowns. With one more touchdown reception, he'll tie the Jets franchise record for 14 in a season. He sits 58 yards away from tying the franchise mark for receiving yards too.
Patriots Curious Decision to Kick After Winning Coin Toss
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It seemed, at least from the outside, like quite the simple and easy decision. After winning the overtime kickoff, the Patriots were about to elect to receive.
That would put the ball in the hands of four-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, who with a touchdown, would win the game for New England. Take the ball. Try to score.
Except...the Patriots didn't. When the time came to choose, reserve wideout Matthew Slater said the team wanted to kick the ball. The Jets subsequently went 80 yards in five plays before Ryan Fitzpatrick and Eric Decker connected on the game-winning touchdown.
So let's try to answer the question on everyone's mind: Why did the Patriots elect to kick?
"I thought that was the best thing to do," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.
OK, well, that's one way to put it.
But for the sake of discussion, here's a bit more detail: Jets wideout Brandon Marshall caught up with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels after the game. The two were familiar with each other during their overlapping time together in Denver.
What McDaniels told Marshall was that the Patriots wanted to play the field-position game. Having only scored one touchdown all day, the Patriots didn't like their chances, apparently, of scoring one in overtime.
What they wanted to do instead was kick the ball off to the Jets, force a three-and-out, get good field position on the ensuing punt and then drive down the field for a game-winning field goal. While it may have looked like there was some confusion from the Patriots during the coin toss, according to all from New England's sideline, this was the plan all along.
"Whatever coach decides, that's what the team does," Brady said. "We as players just have to play better. It wasn't like we were tracking up and down the field. It's certainly not an easy decision.
"I think we all have confidence that whatever coach decides, we have to go out there and do our job and do the best we can because he's trying to do whatever he can to help us win."
Was it the wrong call? Sure. The arrogant one? Absolutely. But you can sort of see what Belichick was thinking. While the Patriots offense was struggling, so was the Jets offense. Before Decker's game-winning catch, the team had just three points on its last five drives.
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Updated Playoff Picture
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The Jets control their own destiny—finally.
After four weeks of playing the wait-and-see game, the Jets are now officially in a situation where a victory Week 17 over the Buffalo Bills will result in a trip to the postseason. Here's how things looked entering Week 16 and how they look exiting it:
Prior to Sunday, the Jets were in a three-way tie for one of the AFC's two wild-card spots. Despite having identical records, New York was actually out of the playoffs had they started before Saturday. The Kansas City Chiefs had the better conference record, and the Pittsburgh Steelers had the better common opponent record. What the Jets needed to have happen was for either the Chiefs or Steelers to lose.
On Sunday, the Chiefs defeated the Cleveland Browns to remain in control of the AFC's fifth seed. The Steelers, however, lost to the Baltimore Ravens. With the Jets victory, the team jumped the Steelers and are now in sole possession of the AFC's sixth and final wild-card spot.
Here's how the AFC's playoff picture now looks:
1st Seed: New England Patriots (12-3)
2nd Seed: Cincinnati Bengals (11-3 and play Monday night)
3rd Seed: Denver Broncos (10-4 and play Monday night)
4th Seed: Houston Texans (8-7)
5th Seed: Kansas City Chiefs (10-5)
6th Seed: New York Jets (10-5)
7th and Non-Playoff Seed: Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6)
If the Jets win next weekend in Buffalo, they're in the playoffs no matter what the Steelers do. If they were to lose, they'd need the Steelers to also lose to remain in the playoffs.
Ryan Fitzpatrick on Beating Bills to Get to Playoffs
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The Rex Ryan vs. New York Jet storyline will be beat to death over the coming days, but that's not the only one worth following this week.
Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick spent four seasons as the Bills quarterback. Now he'll have to beat them to make the playoffs for the first time in his career. What's that feel like? Fitzpatrick explains:
"You guys will have plenty to write about, which will be good. But yes, it's a crazy circumstance. That's what it's going to come down to in Buffalo."
Todd Bowles on Quincy Enunwa Bouncing Back
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For the majority of the game, Enunwa wasn't doing much to help the Jets. On the team's first possession, he mistimed a ball which caused a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass to bounce incomplete. In the fourth quarter, with the Jets trying to go down the field and score before time ran out, he dropped what would have been a game-winning catch.
For most that would have been it. But Enunwa kept going. The second-year pro had a 48-yard catch-and-run up the sideline to set up Decker's game-winning score.
After the game, Bowles was asked what it was like to see Enunwa bounce back:
"It was great seeing him catch the ball. A drop is a drop and a catch is a catch. He came back in a big way. Quincy was fighting through it the entire game. He made some big plays for us."
Brandon Marshall on Postgame Celebration
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With the dramatic fashion in which the Jets won Sunday, the team had quite the victory celebration. Everyone ran on the field, wideout Eric Decker jumped in the stands, fireworks went off and the crowd went crazy.
That, apparently, wasn't exactly how it was supposed to go. Afterward, Marshall weighed in on what he was thinking during the postgame celebration:
"I was a little disappointed. Before the game, I broke the team down and I told them when we win, don't act like we won the Super Bowl. Then we won and everyone charges the field. Freaking fireworks are going off. I guess they enjoyed the win."
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 or via transcript unless otherwise noted.
Connor can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes) or via email (Connor_j_hughes@yahoo.com)
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