Four Ups, Four Downs From Patriots' 24-17 Win Over Jets
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Though much of the postgame focus will center on one individual play, there were actually dozens of other plays that helped decide Sunday's 24-17 victory for the Patriots over the Jets.
It was, really, a wild game. If you asked anyone in New England to assess the Patriots after, say, 25 minutes of game time, the reviews would be ugly. But that's why they play 60 minutes.
That being said, there were plenty of negative takeaways to go with the positives after that narrow victory. Here are the Ups and Downs.
FOUR UPS
Malcolm Butler
Again, the fumble ruling at the goal line will generate a lot of debate in football circles. But Butler's play to race to the pylon and help strip the football from Austin Seferian-Jenkins' arms shouldn't get overlooked.
Nor should Butler's interception with 40 seconds remaining in the first half, a play that allowed the Patriots to drive for a tying touchdown before halftime. He also displayed some skills as a pass rusher, as seen when he forced Josh McCown to rush on a fourth-down throw on a pass that ended up being intercepted.
Nothing's more important than possession, and if not for Butler's play on Sunday, the Patriots would very likely have been dealing with a tough divisional loss.
Rob Gronkowski
The Patriots' offense was not flying on all cylinders. But it did enough to win, thanks in large part to the work of the hulking tight end wearing No. 87.
By Gronkowski standards, a stat line of six catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns isn't necessarily gaudy. But his impact was immense, not just on those catches, but also in drawing a key pass interference penalty on the goal line.
Brandin Cooks
Likewise with Brandin Cooks, who had his second-best game as a member of the Patriots.
Cooks caught six passes for 93 yards, including this absolute gem that set up one of Gronkowski's touchdowns:
Cooks is now up to 472 receiving yards through six games on the season, putting him on pace for a 1,250-yard season. His career high in a season is 1,173 yards.
Dion Lewis
The Patriots finally let Dion Lewis run free, and the elusive back made it a good decision.
Lewis ran for 52 yards on 11 carries, scoring a touchdown from the 1-yard line in what was his most action of the year as a runner. He also picked up four first downs.
The 52-yard output may not appear to be significant, but the Patriots' offense has been desperate for some help from the running game this year, and that type of performance from Lewis -- and Mike Gillislee, with his 44 yards on 10 carries -- was just what was needed.
Honorable Mention: Tom Brady
It wasn't a great game for Brady by any standards, let alone his own. But with the win, he earned his 187th regular-season victory. That's the most of all time. Not bad.
Honorable Mention: Devin McCourty
He helped turn the tide defensively when he rushed to the line to stop Austin Seferian-Jenkins from picking up a first down after making a catch on a third-and-3, and he came up with an interception on an errant fourth-down pass by McCown. He's been the defensive leader for two straight weeks, helping rescue the unit from embarrassment.
FOUR DOWNS
Matt Patricia and Bill Belichick
Credit to the Patriots for waking up, but there's no excuse for way the Patriots started this game defensively.
The Jets opened with an 88-yard drive, during which they converted a third-and-10, a third-and-8, a third-and-6, and a third-and-1.
The Jets drove another 78 yards on their third drive, needing just seven plays to march down the field.
When the Jets got the ball trailing by 10 with 6:32 left to play, receiver Jermaine Kearse was left completely uncovered for a 44-yard gain to start the drive. With no resistance, the Patriots' defense gave up half of a football field on a single play.
They might have been able to overcome it against a team like the Jets. But as we saw in Week 1, a good team will take those breakdowns and turn them into Patriots losses. After having 10 days to prepare for the Jets, this defensive game plan and execution was not good enough. Certainly some players are to blame, but too often the Patriots' play calling made life too easy for Josh McCown and the Jets.
(Some of those players include Elandon Roberts for giving up the Seferian-Jenkins touchdown, Malcolm Butler for taking a risk in allowing a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerley, and Alan Branch for once again being a non-factor.)
Stephen Gostkowski
To be sure, 47-yard field goals are not gimmes. But when Gostkowski missed his 47-yard attempt late in the second quarter, he missed it badly. The ball made it about halfway to the goal posts before veering sharply to the right and missing wide.
It was his first missed field goal of the year -- he has missed an extra point -- so it's not worth sounding any alarms at this point in time. But that missed kick was certainly not his best work.
Mike Gillislee
Overall his output was helpful to the cause. But his fumble late in the first quarter was a bad one.
Of course, fumbles do happen. But Gillislee allowed the ball to come away from his body as he was fighting through a tackle to gain more yards, thus allowing Darron Lee to knock it loose. Gillislee appeared to pay extra attention to ball security from that point forward, which showed he could have been better on the play in question.
Gillislee is someone who's still eager to have a real breakout game for the Patriots. Considering he was not given any touches in the second quarter after the fumble, mistakes like that one make the quest more difficult.
The Touchback Rule
While the world is arguing about whether Seferian-Jenkins fumbled (he did), perhaps a closer eye could be looked at the rule itself. If a runner fumbles out of bounds from anywhere else on the football field, the offense retains possession. If a runner fumbles out of bounds through the end zone, then it's a turnover. It's a strange quirk in the rules, and it probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Then again, nothing really makes sense when it comes to possessing the football in and around the end zone.
The strangeness of the rule has been addressed before, but maybe a high-profile moment like this might bring it back into the spotlight. Nobody likes talking about the rulebook after a game.
Also Receiving Votes: Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan
Each receiver picked up an offensive pass interference penalty for setting picks on plays. Both were terribly obvious penalties. That needs to get cleaned up.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
