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Patriots Outlast Jets 24-17

Monday, October 16, 2017 4:30

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The Patriots used the mid-game to build a two score lead and held on for a 24-17 win over the Jets in New Jersey. The win put the Pats in first place, a half-game ahead of the 3-2 Bills (who are on a bye). Next up is a Super Bowl rematch against the Falcons at Gillette stadium next Sunday night.

Given my recent absence, I’ll try to cover as much as I can from the past few weeks and this game. But suffice it to say there were some signs of progress this week.

For the first time in a while the Patriots defense made good adjustments during the game to shut down an offense that was gashing them. They did the same against Houston, then almost gave the game away late. Yesterday they adjusted and held the Jets to three points on their last eight drives.

The secondary got burned early but came back to clamp down on receivers in the second and third quarters. And this was without big-money free agent Stephon Gilmore or Eric Rowe (insert Nickelback joke here), both out with injuries. Malcolm Butler and Johnson Bademosi weren’t perfect, but they mostly improved as the game progressed.

(Although they were helped by New York’s curious decision to attack Butler instead of journeyman Bademosi, whom they left alone for most of the day. Perhaps the Patriots kept safety help to Bademosi’s side. Not that you’d know it from the broadcast, they didn’t have a single illuminating replay the entire game.)

In the first five weeks of the season, New York averaged 111.5 yards per game rushing and 4.5 yards per carry. But Matt Patricia’s defense held them to 74 and 3.1 respectively. Good tackling technique and gap control led to five short-yardage stuffs in the last 45 minutes of the game, three of them giving the ball back to the Patriots.

Penalties were down for a change. The Patriots had 12 accepted penalties against Tampa Bay, and they are among the league leaders in most penalties. However, they had just six accepted flags against the Jets. And they didn’t have those stupid penalties we’d seen the first quarter of the season: back-to-back roughing the passer calls, back-to-back running into the kicker calls, and calls for too many men on the field or lining up incorrectly. I’m hopeful this is the start of a trend where they get back to disciplined football and don’t beat themselves.

The offensive rhythm looked a lot better, with Brady throwing “on time” more often and hitting receivers in stride so they could do damage after the catch. He wasn’t perfect, perhaps owing to his left shoulder injury. But he made the plays necessary to keep the team moving and score points. (And between us, a few of his under thrown passes were due to being hit, but don’t tell anyone else.)

Brady was protected better in this game. But I can’t chalk that up to the O-line; it looked like they were chipping the outside rush with backs and tight ends. That’s the wise thing to do, but it doesn’t speak to much progress of the O-line, though they were a bit better this week, especially in the running game.

Rob Gronkowski is still a difference-maker, and as I’ve noted before, he is vastly more effective when the team runs the ball well. The team wouldn’t have won without his two touchdowns. And Brandon Cooks looks to be completely in-sync with Brady, as is Chris Hogan. But Phillip Dorsett looks totally useless; he doesn’t even fight for the ball when it’s about to be intercepted.

One downside from the game was another field goal missed by Stephen Gostkowski (47 yards). His defenders say he is one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history. But he is not clutch, and he can’t be counted on in a big spot. And I reiterate my suggestion from last year: bring in a real special teams coach. Gostkowski thrived under Scott O’Brien, who was a long-time ST coach. Current coach Joe Judge might be in over his head trying to figure out what ails Gostkowski.

So where does that leave us? All in all a good win, but still plenty of room for improvement. 4-2 is not a bad spot to be, especially when you could easily be 2-4. Next week against Atlanta could be a big problem if Gilmore isn’t healthy.

Non-Brady MVP of the Week: The running game was key this week, so it goes to Deon Lewis, who played a lot more because Mike Gillislee fumbled and was benched for a while.

Statistical Oddity of the Week: The Patriots offensive has notched an impressive 106.9 passer rating. But their defense has allowed a dreadful 104.4 passer rating. (Trivia question: name the year and the team that gave up the highest defensive passer rating in an NFL season… answer below.)

Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: “The games against Atlanta, Denver, and Oakland will tell the us a lot more than the Jets game.”

Keep the faith,

- Scott

PS. 4-2!

PPS. Trivia answer:

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The 2014 New Orleans Saints allowed a defensive passer rating of 116.2. That’s even worse than the 2008 Lions, who went 0-16… blech!

Source: http://www.yourpatriots.com/2017/10/patriots-outlast-jets-24-17.html

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