The Jets lost their seventh straight game falling to the New England Patriots, 16-3 on Sunday afternoon. The Jets are now 2-10.
After a slow start, the Patriots offense got going and wore down the Jets defense who was on the field for 38:10.
While Patriots RB Corey Dillon only had 65 yards rushing, he did score the Patriots lone touchdown.
Jets QB Brooks Bollinger was 15-of-37 for 135 yards and threw an interception.
"Right now we’ve got a lot of things going through our heads," Bollinger said. "It’s frustrating but everybody just has to come back and keep working. It seems like we say that every week, but now we just have to find a way to get some breaks. As a player, we have to make those breaks, and we just didn’t do it today."
“I thought it was a pretty even game in the first half," Jets head coach Herman Edwards said after the game. "It got a little out of control in the second half. Once they got up to a two-score lead they did what other teams have done to us in the past: they ran the ball and continued to run it. We moved the ball on offense a little bit in the second half but we couldn’t get it into the end zone. We’ve scored one touchdown the last three weeks. It’s very, very difficult, especially on the road, to score three points and win."
Patriots K Adam Vinatieri, one of the best in the NFL, missed a 45-yard field goal wide left on the team’s second possession.
The Jets took over at the Patriots 35 and the Jets used RB Cedric Houston and RB Curtis Martin out of the backfield to move the ball to the Patriots 37 but had to punt.
After the teams traded punts, New England began their next drive at their own 20. Patriots QB Tom Brady completed two third downs on the drive. The drive was capped off by a 21-yard Vinatieri field goal to put the Patriots up 3-0 with 5:36 left in the second quarter. The drive took 14 plays and went 77 yards in 8:09.
On the ensuing drive, on 3rd-and-5, Bollinger dropped back to pass and was sacked by LB Roosevelt Colvin, which caused a fumble that was recovered by the Patriots. However, Colvin was called for a 15-yard facemask penalty on the play, which nullified the fumble, and the Jets retained possession. After a run by RB Curtis Martin that failed to pick up a first down, K Mike Nugent nailed a 38-yard field goal to tie the game at three with 1:02 left in the first half.
The Patriots began their final drive of the first half at their own 40 with under a minute left. RB Kevin Faulk, WR Deion Branch, and WR Troy Brown all had big catches on the drive as the Patriots operated out of the shotgun. Vinatieri kicked a 34-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the first half as the Patriots went into the locker room leading 6-3.
After the Jets could do nothing on their first drive of the second half, the Patriots put together a long drive that culminated in a Corey Dillon one-yard rushing touchdown to put the Patriots up 13-3. The drive went 85 yards, 14 plays and 8:32. Brady was perfect on the series, completing 7-of-7 passes for 64 yards. Brady finished 27-of-37 for 271 yards for the game.
“Tom is a smart quarterback and he understands where our pressure comes from - it comes a lot from the ends - and I know a couple of times I thought I had a clear sack on him and he just stepped up in the pocket," DE John Abraham said. "He’s a very smart quarterback and he showed it today.”
The Patriots again put points on the board on their next drive as Vinatieri’s 22-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter gave the Patriots a 16-3 lead.
After punter Ben Graham and the Jets’ special teams downed their second ball of the game at the Patriots’ 1-yard line, the defense forced New England’s offense into a three-and-out and the Green & White took over at midfield. A possession that began with promise, and included a career-high 17-yard pass reception by rookie tight end Joel Dreessen, was unable to produce points when, on fourth-and-4 from the Patriots’ 19, G Brandon Moore was called for offensive holding, which was declined, and the ball reverted back to New England on downs.
"It’s tough; we had some opportunities but we didn’t cash in on them," Edwards said. "We have to be able to score some points. If teams get a two-score lead on us it’s tough to come back, and we weren’t able to do that. I thought the defense wore down a little bit. I thought the quarterback made some good throws in the second half. Brooks is playing as good as he can play. That’s all we can ask of the guy. He’s doing everything he can do to move the team. He’s got to get help along the way."
INSIDER TIDBITS
-RB Curtis Martin only had 29 yards on 15 carries.
-Jets rookie P Ben Graham averaged 42 yards on six punts with a long of 49.
-WR Lavernaneus Coles led the Jets with four catches for 35 yards.
-The Jets were just 4-14 on third downs.
-LB Jonathan Vilma and S Erik Coleman each had 12 tackles to lead the Jets defense.
-The Patriots had 24 first downs while the Jets had just 12.
-DE John Abraham picked up a first-quarter sack to move past Verlon Biggs into fifth place on the Jets all-time sack list. Abraham has 49.5 career sacks.
-Wide receiver Harry Williams Jr., the Jets seventh round draft choice in 2005, dressed for his first regular season game.
-Cornerback Ty Law, a first round pick of the Patriots in 1995, returned to New England for the first time in a Jets' uniform. Law, who was credited with five tackles, earned three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots.
-QB Kliff Kingsbury, QB Jay Fielder, RB Derrick Blaylock, DT Sione Pouha, G Issac Snell, DB Darrien Johnson, and G Norm Katnik were inactive.
The Jets now focus on preparing for the Oakland Raiders and former Jets RB Lamont Jordan who come to the Meadowlands next weekend.
