Patriots' Machine Overcomes Rookie Mistakes In Blowout Of Jets

The New England Patriots' defense is on an epic, historic run, allowing just three points in as many games. Too bad the same cannot be said about the Patriots' offense or special teams.

Football is a team game, and the statisticians confirm that by counting any points scored by the opposition as "points allowed", so anyone who didn't watch the Patriots' 30-14 victory over the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon would be predisposed to think that the Jets scored twice on New England's defense...

...but in reality, the Patriots' stoppers held New York's anemic offense to barely one hundred yards of total offense and allowed them to cross midfield just once, forcing ten punts on twelve possessions and picking off Jets' quarterback Luke Falk to end another drive in yet another dominating performance.

Collins celebrates one of his two sacks on Sunday

But then, rookies happened.

The Jets crossed midfield for the first time in the game late in the third quarter on a personal foul by the defense, which then stiffened and drove the Jets backwards from there, forcing another punt - and that's when things took a turn to the absurd.

Rookie returner Gunner Olszewski muffed the ensuing punt that the Jets' Aurther Maulet recovered in the end zone for their first points of the day, and then backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham threw an interception that was returned for another score, blowing the shutout in comical fashion and making the final score appear as if the Jets put up an epic fight, when nothing could be farther from the truth.

Rookies. What are you gonna do?

The fumble by Olszewski was the lone tweak on an otherwise solid day for the Patriots' special teams - save another missed point after touchdown by an increasingly erratic Stephen Gostkowski - which made the score 30-7...

...then head ball coach Bill Belichick decided to mothball quarterback Tom Brady, inserting rookie back up Jarrett Stidam who promptly targeted Jets' safety Jamal Adams in coverage and suddenly New York was within two scores of the defending champions.

But things returned to normal as Belichick reinserted Brady into the lineup and forbade Olszewski to handle any more kicks, and New England coasted to their third straight victory to start the season.

The Patriots' offense came out of the gates like they were collectively fired out of a canon, scoring on their first three possessions to build a twenty point lead, with running back Sony Michel finding paydirt from six yards out and Brady tossing scoring strikes to Phillip Dorsett and Julian Edelman...

...but then sputtered when Edelman was forced to the training room with a rib injury midway through the second quarter and multiple maladies sidelined Josh Gordon for a spell - but an interception of Falk by safety Devin McCourty set up a Gostkowski field goal and Runner Rex Burkhead punched through the crust for a two yard touchdown on their next possession midway through the third period to build the Patriots' lead to thirty points.

Without Edelman on the field and Gordon missing several snaps, the offense stagnated and stalled against the young-but-talented Jets' defense, who took advantage of their absence and went to primarily a zone coverage scheme that locked down Brady's other options in the pattern - and that, combined with the Patriots' inexplicable failure to produce a consistant running game, forced New England to punt the ball away seven times after the first quarter onslaught.

While concerning, the Patriots were missing a primary weapon in running back James White, who was granted the day off by Belichick to witness the birth of his second child. White, arguably the best receiving back in the league, would have spread the Jets' defense thin to account for his prolific production in the passing game, though Burkhead continues to exert his will on defenses as both a runner and pass catcher.

On defense, once again linebacker Jamie Collins led the stoppers in both intensity and production, logging two sacks of New England's five sacks on the day, two quarterback hits, multiple tackles for loss and a pass defensed in his early bid for consideration for Defensive Player of the Year, while McCourty picked off a pass for the third consecutive game.

With Falk at quarterback, the Patriots' defense concentrated on stopping the Jets' running game, holding star multi-tool runner Le'Veon Bell to an abysmal 35 rushing yards on 18 carries and just four receptions for 28 yards. Despite being targeted by New England's game plan, Bell still accounted for sixty percent of New York's offense, though his 63 total yards landed well short of his normal output.

There has been no other team in modern NFL history whose offense and special teams have surrendered more points than their defense, which leads the league in scoring defense with an oppressive one-point per game average and an almost comical 0.08 points per possession by their opponents. Conversely, both the Patriots' offense and special teams are allowing 2.3 points per game.

Regardless of those numbers, the team's stat sheet will show that the Patriots are scoring at a clip of 35 points per game and surrendering just five, leading the league in both scoring and total defense, while the offense ranks second in scoring and fifth in total offense as they head into a showdown in Buffalo with the undefeated Bills next Sunday, a contest that should prove more of a challenge on both sides of the ball.

Good Stuff

1. Jamie Collins playing like a mad man: There is no more dominating force for the Patriots' defense than Collins, who leads the team in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, quarterback hits, and is second on the unit in passes defended. Collins credits his teammates for opening lanes for him to make plays, which is true, but his intensity and skill produce the desired results when given those opportunities. Though the sample size is small after only three games, Collins is a front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year consideration.

2. Jake Bailey's rocket launcher for a leg: Punters can be true weapons in the field position battle, and Bailey sets up the defense by consistently pinning the opposition's offense deep in their own territory. His booming punts force infinitely more fair catches than returns, his length and accuracy and hang time forcing the Jets to start their offensive drive from an average starting point of their own 12 yard line.

3. Josh Gordon's toughness: The mercurial Gordon was forced from the game twice with injuries to his back and left hand, but he returned both times to make spectacular, leaping receptions in traffic. Playing through pain - and playing well - has endured the skillful Gordon to his teammates, and gives Brady the increasing confidence to toss 50/50 balls in his direction.

Curious

1. Stidham's appearance: Brady looked pissed on the sideline when removed from the game so that his understudy could get some real-time snaps, but Stidham's poor throw that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown ended his day after one failed series. It seemed anomylous and random that Belichick would pull Brady early in the fourth quarter after leaving him in for the full contest in the previous two games.

Bad Juju

1. Sony Michel's inability to get started: Michel's one-dimensional tool set left him an afterthought as the game moved forward. Initially there was hope that Michel would break out of his three-game slump as he scored the Patriots' first touchdown on an off-tackle play early in the first quarter, but he was held to five yards in eight carries the rest of the way. Once again, the struggling Michel was replaced by the far more effective Burkhead.

2. Edelman's injury: The Squirrel appeared to be bent awkwardly as he was sandwiched between a couple of Jets' defenders. He played on the next snap though in obvious discomfort, then headed straight to the locker room. Reports indicate that xrays were negative and that Edelman shouldn't miss any time going forward, but the stagnation of New England's offense in his absence is concerning.