Patriots running game grounds the Jets

Monday, October 10, 2011

John Rooke, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

There just wasn’t the pre-game “pop” that other Patriots-Jets games have recently had.

Leave it to the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins to inject a little life into an otherwise “normal” game day routine. The Patriots welcomed the Bruins, who also brought the Stanley Cup with them, to the field for some pre-game inspiration. The Patriots used that inspiration to pound on the New York Jets 30-21 Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

Starting cautiously, both teams failed to score on their opening possessions, and for the Patriots, it was the first time this season they did not score on their first drive. On the second drive, Tom Brady found Wes Welker behind the Jets secondary for a 32 yard gain, setting up four straight solid runs by Benjarvus Green-Ellis…the last of which came from three yards out for a touchdown to give the Pats a 7-0 lead. Five plays, 64 yards – and no “no huddle” looks or pressure offense applied.

Good, old-fashioned power football. Do unto others before they do unto you.

Defensive end Mark Anderson applied heat to Jets’ QB Mark Sanchez on New York’s 3rd possession, coming up with a sack to stop the Jets on 3rd down. Backed up at their own 10-yard line, Brady came out firing, and even though New England committed two penalties on the drive, backing the Pats up into 3rd and 22, the Jets’ Jim Leonhard was called for pass interference against Aaron Hernandez, giving the offense new life. However, a holding penalty forced a Patriots punt to end a rather defensive 1st quarter with a 7-0 lead.

The Jets then found themselves backing up after a late hit penalty was called against Welker fielding a punt…that put the offense in great shape at the NY 44 yard line. Another pass interference call – this one on CB Kyle Wilson against Hernandez – set the Pats up with a 1st down to keep the drive moving. Stephen Gostkowski eventually kicked a 44-yard field goal to make it 10-0, with just over 11 minutes to play in the 2nd quarter. It wasn’t until Sanchez finally found Plaxico Burress for a 19 yard gain with less than 10 minutes left that the Jets finally came up with a first down. The play kick-started a 13-play drive, covering 78 yards, capped by Shonn Greene’s 3 yard TD run to pull the Jets within 10-7.

Starting from their own 7-yard line with just over three minutes to go in the first half, Brady (24-33, 321 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT) and Green-Ellis pulled the offense from the shadow of their own goal posts…thanks in part to Jets’ mistakes. A Donald Strickland sack of Brady was rubbed out because of an illegal chuck in the secondary, keeping the drive alive at the two-minute warning. Finding Chad Ochocinco for two straight completions, Brady positioned the offense in Jets’ territory with just over a minute to play. A 30 yard pass to Deion Branch was followed by another Brady sack (David Harris), and with :09 seconds left, an apparent TD pass to Hernandez bounced out of his hands and into those of Antonio Cromartie – ending the threat, and the half, with the Patriots leading 10-7.

That couldn’t have set well inside the Pats’ locker room at halftime.

On the first play of the 3rd quarter, Brady found Welker behind the defense for 72 yards, down to the Jets’ 8-yard line. But two plays later, on a completion to Branch inside the five, Branch lost the football to NY’s Mike DeVito. Bill Belichick challenged the official ruling of a fumble, as it appeared Branch’s knees were down as he was touched by LB Calvin Pace before the ball came loose. The call was reversed, giving the Patriots a valuable “do over.” They made the most of it – as Brady found Branch wide open in the end zone on the next play from two yards out for a TD to give New England a 17-7 lead. But the Jets also came out firing, with Joe McKnight returning the kickoff 87 yards to the Patriots’ 20, giving the NY offense a short field to work with. Three plays is all it took for Sanchez to find Jeremy Kerley from 9 yards out for the score, to make it 17-14.

Now, the game was on.

Both teams traded punts twice, as the Pats began a drive at their own 23 with 5:32 to play in the 3rd quarter. The "pressure offense" reappeared to find TE’s Gronkowski and Hernandez for consecutive first downs, followed by a pass interference call on Brodney Pool against Gronkowski, putting the Pats at the 16. Before the Jets defense could get set, Green-Ellis sprinted around right end to the three, and two plays later, he somersaulted into the end zone around left end for a 24-14 advantage.

From there, the Patriots’ defense stopped the Jets deep in their own end, thanks to a second accurate coaches’ challenge by Belichick, overruling a completion to Burress that would have been a 22-yard first down play. Instead, the incompletion forced a short T.J. Conley punt, returned by Welker to the Jets’ 25 yard line as the 3rd quarter came to an end. The drive stalled at the five, giving Gostkowski the chance to knock through a 24-yard FG for a 27-14 advantage, with 12:57 to play.

Faced with a certain sense of urgency, the Jets came out firing, with completions to Burress and Santonio Holmes, followed by strong runs from Greene. Moving into striking range at the NE 35, Sanchez found Derrick Mason at the 24 to keep the drive alive, and on another 3rd down from the 21…Sanchez found Holmes open for the touchdown to bring the Jets back within one score – and one possession – at 27-21.

The only number that mattered now to the Patriots was 42…as in BenJarvus Green-Ellis' jersey number. "He ran great, he always does," Brady said. "He’s a tough runner, he’s a real smart runner, he’s patient, he sees the holes. That was a big part of the win. I thought we were balanced." Looking to take time off the clock, three straight carries put the ball into New York territory with 3:43 left, leading to a critical 3rd down and 4 play. Green-Ellis (career high 136 yards on 27 carries, 2 TD's) responded with a 15 yard gain on a direct snap, moving the chains, and the clock. Just before the two minute warning, Brady found Gronkowski open on another 3rd down conversion to the Jets’ 17. With 4th down at the 9, Gostkowski came on to provide a little extra to the margin…a 28 yard FG with 1:02 left for a 30-21 lead, and ultimately, a 30-21 win.

"We had our moments. We had our moments," Belichick said. "We had some three-and-outs. We didn’t play very well in the red area and we still gave up 21 points, but it was enough to win. Certainly, there are things we can improve on, but I think we have improved and hopefully we keep building on that and continue to get better each week."

Post Game Notes

The Patriots scored 30 points Sunday, marking their 13th straight game with 30 or more points. The current streak of 13 straight games with 30 or more points is second in NFL history to the 14 straight games by the St. Louis Rams (1999-2000)...since the beginning of the 2010 season, Green-Ellis has 18 touchdown runs, the most in the NFL. Houston’s Arian Foster is second with 17...Brady threw one touchdown pass against Jets to move into a tie for eighth place on the NFL’s all-time touchdown pass list, equaling Vinny Testaverde’s total of 275 career touchdown passes. Johnny Unitas ranks seventh with 290 touchdown passes. While Brady's streak of 13 straight games with 2 or more TD passes was snapped (an NFL-tying record shared with Peyton Manning), Brady now also ranks eighth in NFL history with 115 career wins as a starting quarterback, two behind Joe Montana’s total of 117 wins...

Welker had five receptions for 124 yards and now has 45 receptions for 740 yards through five games this season. His 740 receiving yards are the most in NFL history for any player through the first five games of the season...he extended his streak to 66 straight regular-season games with at least one reception as a member of the Patriots to extend his franchise record. Welker has an overall streak of 83 straight regular-season games with at least one reception, including his time with the Miami Dolphins...what about the anticipated match-up with Darelle Revis? The two were apparently together for 42 snaps, with only 3 passes targeted for Welker during that time and two receptions, good for 77 yards. "He’s always a factor. He’s a great player," Welker said of Revis. "You definitely have to make sure you’re very crisp with all your routes and really set up him up with stuff and be smart about it. Every play is go-time when he’s across from you."

Aaron Hernandez returned to action against the Jets and caught five passes for 56 yards...Rob Gronkowski, who fought through illness to play on Sunday, finished with 4 catches for 31 yards...

Stephen Gostkowski kicked two fourth-quarter field goals today, raising his streak to 33 consecutive successful fourth-quarter field goals...the Patriots are now 5-0 when wearing throwback uniforms at home. New England has worn uniforms featuring the old “Pat Patriot” logo at home five times since switching to the current logo in 1993...

How about some defense? The Patriots forced the Jets into seven 3-and-outs in 12 possessions overall, and didn't allow a first down until 10:27 was left in the 2nd quarter...Mark Anderson had 1 1/2 sacks of Mark Sanchez, with Rob Ninkovich combining on the other half in the first quarter...Andre Carter, Gary Guyton and Patrick Chung all had big tackles that stopped several Jets drives throughout the game...safety James Ihedigbo, a former NY Jet, had his first career NFL start Sunday against his former team...

One-and-One:

Nitpick - Tough to do that on this day, but I will point out the inconsistent play of the offensive line, which allowed Brady to be sacked four times. On the other hand, the line was certainly responsible for much of BJGE's big rushing day...

Superlative - Green-Ellis showed how he became a 1000-yard rusher last season for the Patriots, using power and toughness between the tackles when it was needed (dragging Sione Puoha into the end zone on one TD), and speed around the end when the opportunity presented itself. He showed great burst on a quick snap before a 3rd quarter touchdown, and speed around end on a direct-snap in the 4th quarter...

Sneak peek @ Next Week: Dallas Cowboys

The Patriots and Cowboys have not faced each other often at all, with next Sunday's 4:15 ET kickoff in Foxboro just the 11th meeting between the teams. Dallas has won seven of the previous 10, the last game coming in 2007 with New England winning 48-27 at the now-demolished Texas Stadium in Irving, TX. The last meeting in Foxboro came November 16, 2003 with the Patriots shutting out Dallas 12-0. In fact, New England has won three in a row, after the Cowboys had won the first seven games in the series. Dallas' last win came December 15, 1996 in a 12-6 win at Texas Stadium...the Cowboys are 2-2 thus far this season, and injuries have certainly played a part in their start...QB Tony Romo has played with cracked ribs, and WR Miles Austin has been banged up. Both, however, are expected to play next Sunday...as the Cowboys had their bye week this week...think Rex Ryan will share any secrets with his brother Rob? Rob Ryan, a former defensive coach for the Patriots, is the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys...