October 25, 2015, Queens, NY They are a terrible twosome, at least if you’re not a fan of the New England Patriots who beat the New York Jets in a hotly contested division game, 30-23, in Foxboro. The Jets are now 4-2, and the Patriots are 6-0.
Tom Brady said earlier in the week that he wants to play for another decade. Today he showed no signs of slowing down as he completed 34 of 54 passes, threw for 355 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Rob Gronkowski caught 11 balls for 108 yards and scored one touchdown. The 11 catches were a career high for the Canton-destined tight end who deserved to be on the cover of Madden.
The Jets and Patriots were tied at 3-3 after the first quarter. By the end of the half, the Patriots had a 13-10 lead. In the third quarter, the Jets took the lead on an 80-yard touchdown drive to go up 17-16. In the fourth quarter, the Jets were down 27-17 and kicked a field goal with less than 30 seconds left and no time outs. Brandon Marshall recovered an onside kick but with very little time left, Marshall was called for a penalty that led to a run-off of the clock and time expired.
Ryan Fitzpatrick had a good outing completing 22 of 39 passes for 295 yards, two touchdowns, and no picks. Chris Ivory, the AFC’s leading rusher, was nursing a pulled hamstring and rushed for only 41 yards on 17 carries, but he did catch a pass for a touchdown. Eric Decker caught six passes for 94 yards. Brandon Marshall had 67 receiving yards on four receptions. Zac Stacy carried the ball seven times for 19 yards.
It was a moral victory for the Jets who under the leadership of first-year head coach, Todd Bowles, are showing lots of grit and are clearly one of the better teams in the league. The Jets have to feel confident when they face the Patriots on December 27 at MetLife Stadium.
The Patriots face a redhot Miami Dolphins who under their new coach, Dan Campbell, have a new attitude. Campbell has the Dolphins on a two-game winning streak, and that doesn’t qualify him to be discussed in Bill Belichick-ian terms, but it’s not going to be a cakewalk for the Patriots.
Next up for the Jets are the very feisty Oakland Raiders. The Raiders were handily beating the San Diego Chargers 37-13 at the time of this writing.
Professor Clifford Benton can be reached at @cliffordbenton.