Tom Brady leads Patriots to tough win against Jets, remain unbeaten
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| Photo courtesy of The Boston Globe |
With Dion Lewis out and not much of a running game to speak of, Tom Brady was tasked with airing it out all afternoon. He went 34/54 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns.
The Patriots put the game away for good in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Brady hooked up with Rob Gronkowski for a 15-yard touchdown on a play that saw him completely wide open. The Jets did themselves no favors by not calling a time out to stop the clock with under two minutes to go.
The Jets converted on a late Nick Folk field goal to bring the Jets within a touchdown in the closing seconds, and recovered an onside kick with 15 seconds left. They were unable to do anything with it, as Brandon Marshall was called for a false start with one second left, ending the game.
It was a tough day for Brandon LaFell, who played in his first game since being placed on the PUP list in training camp. LaFell had two catches for 25 yards and six dropped passes.
Chris Ivory, who had been hot as of late, finished with 41 yards on 17 carries and also added 12 yards on two catches and a touchdown. Ivory may have gotten hurt on the first play of the game, however. He was buried for a four yard loss and looked hesitant.
That being said, Ivory did seem to find his legs as the game went on.
New England got off to a fast start, as Ryan Fitzpatrick was strip-sacked by Chandler Jones. A recovery by the defense led to a Stephen Gostkowski field goal to put the Patriots up 3-0.
But the Patriots defense couldn't get off the field on third down, and the Jets were able to exploit that all afternoon. They marched down the field in 15 plays to tie the game, 3-3. They were then able to grab the lead on another long drive, making it 10-3.
The Jets came into the second half with a 17-16 lead, and were able to stretch it to 20-16 early in the fourth quarter. The Patriots took a 23-20 lead not long after that after a beautiful catch by Danny Amendola.
Amendola was hot all afternoon, catching eight passes for 86 yards and one score and it was easily one of his best games of the season.
The Patriots will play Thursday night against Miami at home. The Jets dropped to 4-2 and will travel to Oakland to face the Raiders next weekend.
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