Inside the hoodie: Three takeaways from the Jets game

Photo courtesy of Jim Rogash, Getty Images

The Patriots escaped with a two point victory last Thursday against the New York Jets. New England got everything the Jets had to offer and then some. Many expected that the Geno Smith led offense would continue to show their struggles, confirming the reason for their awful record. The loss at the hands of New England was not because of sloppy play by the gang green offense. The Patriots won because they were able to put up TDs instead of resorting to field goals. There are a few key takeaways from the Jets game that will need to be fixed against before Da' Bears come to town. Let's go "Inside the Hoodie".

1.) Get off the field on third downs

The Patriots defense was just plain atrocious at getting off the field on third downs. The Jets managed to convert 9 out of 16 third downs (56%). This statistic is a little misleading because some of the third down conversions came in the red zone. Regardless, the Patriots defense need to tighten up for the Bears. Unlike the Jets, Chicago will punch it in the end zone with one of the offensive weapons and convert for 7 points instead of 3.

2.) Plug the running lanes

218! That is the number of total rushing yards that the Jets offense had. Prior to the game against the Patriots, Chris Ivory was averaging 46 yards per game. After the game, Ivory averages over 61 yards per game. As the NFL's 24th best rushing defense, the Patriots are allowing 4.4 yards per carry and 126.3 yards per game. Does this not concern anyone else heading into a matchup with Bears running back, Matt Forte? It does for me. Forte can not only beat you on the ground, but also as a receiver. Unless the run defense rights the ship, Forte will have over 100 yards rushing

3.) Increase time of possession

Throughout last Thursday's game it seemed like the Jets offense always had the ball. Once I saw the disparity between the time of possession, it all made sense. The Jets had the ball for 40:54 to the Patriots 19:06. I will let that thought sink in for a minute. The Patriots were not very good at controlling the clock and sustaining drives. If it wasn't for the Jets' drives sputtering in the red zone, the Patriots probably would not have won that game. Don't expect a "W" against the Bears if there is another huge difference in time of possession.

The Bears are a team that is fighting among themselves. Hopefully the Patriots will be able to capitalize on this turmoil. It is too bad that we couldn't play this game in Chicago since they can't seem to win at home.


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