Three observations from the Patriots 22-17 victory vs the New York Jets
Despite the fact that both teams are on opposite ends of the AFC East, many, including myself, expected a tight game on Sunday vs the Jets, which is exactly what we got. Jerry Thorton of Barstool Sports compared the biannual meeting vs Gang Green to a "Pass/fail test." The score, the quality of play, how good or bad the two teams are, all gets thrown out the window during Jets week, and you just hope you can come away with win. This particular matchup will go down as a pass for the Patriots, and here's 3 things that I took away from it:
1. Brady is (still) the most clutch player in Football
Sunday marked Brady's 200th career win, tying an all time record, and it's fitting he did so doing what he does best; coming from behind. Trailing 17-16 Brady and the offense took over inside their own 20, having struggled for the better part of the afternoon. Nonetheless, Brady carved up the Jets secondary in just 8 plays and gave New England the eventual game winning score, finding rookie Malcolm Mitchell for the 8 yard touchdown. Bottom line, never count out number 12. Ever.
2. Belichick is (still) a genius
Every body remembers how they felt when CB Darrelle Revis retreated to New York after the 2014 season. Many Patriot fans, myself included, went into a temporary stage of panic, as Revis was still the leagues premier defensive back at the time. Any team who could gauge his interest that offseason would have done exactly what the Jets did, and break the bank on him for however many years he wanted. Belichick on the other hand, let him walk, stood his ground in the negotiations, and seemed unfazed when he returned to New York. Fast Forward to Sunday, it's nothing new to say that Revis has not played well this season, but yesterday may have been the boiling point on what may be the end of a phenomenal career. For a guy who used to lock up any and every player on the field as well as dare quarterbacks to do as much as look at him, times have certainly changed. Not only did Brady look at him, but he went after him, specifically when the game was on the line. Brady completed four out of five balls towards Revis, including both of his touchdown passes. So for whatever Belichick saw in Revis after that 2014 season to let him go, he was right.
3. The Patriots defense is good enough
It's no steel curtain, but this Patriots defense has enough for this team to succeed. The fear that many have is the potential inability for Patricia's D to come up with the final stop to win a football game, but they did just that yesterday. Veteran Chris Long came barreling around the edge and forced a crucial turnover slapping the ball out of Ryan Fitzpatrick's hands, putting the game away for New England. It's not always pretty, but yesterday showed us that this Patriots Defense has the ability to win a game if need be.#OnToLA
