Patriots Live Blog: Pats Come Up With Fourth-Down Stop, Eke Out 24-17 Win
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
Final, 24-17 Patriots: The Jets converted a fourth-and-12, but on a fourth-and-16, they weren't so lucky. McCown had no open receivers, and he eventually just heaved a ball upfield to nobody.
The Pats take over at midfield, jut needing to take a knee to finish off the victory.
What a crazy game. That fumble/turnover call at the pylon will be talked about quite a bit. But overall that was a wild 60 minutes of football. And at the end, the Patriots are alone in first place in the AFC East.
Fourth quarter, 1:53, 24-17 Patriots: Jets' defense stood tall, forcing Brady to call timeout prior to a third down incompletion to Amendola. Skrine had tight coverage and helped prevent Amendola from making a diving catch.
Allen's punt (after a penalty on Cardona) was caught by Kerley at his own 36. He tried his best to make something of his return; he made it nowhere and the Jets committed a block in the back penalty.
So the Jets take over at their own 26-yard line, needing a touchdown and a PAT to win the game.
Fourth quarter, 3:40, 24-17 Patriots: The Patriots' defense from the first half returned for the first play of that drive, as Kearse was left completely uncovered up the right sideline for the easiest 44-yard catch of his life. In an instant, the Jets were given half the football field. That's not the type of defensive breakdown you normally see from a Belichick team, at least not before this year.
The Patriots' defense stiffened after giving up another 10 yards on the next play, and Patrick Chung tackling Forte in the open field on a third-down desperation completion from McCown forced the Jets to settle for a field goal.
So it's a seven-point game with 3:40 left. This ought to be good.
Fourth quarter, 6:32, 24-14 Patriots: Brady took a huge hit on a third-down incompletion, and the Patriots couldn't turn that turnover into anything. But, considering it took a touchdown off the board, they're not too angered at the moment about the whole swing.
Jets take over at their own 35-yard line after Jonathan Jones suplexed Kerley to the turf. Special teams tackling has been a strength for New England today.
Fourth quarter, 8:24, 24-14 Patriots: The Jets just completed a professional drive.
It methodically went 75 yards, and it required just one third-down conversion. It was capped off by a quick pass from the 4-yard line to Seferian-Jenkins, who was hit and lost control of the ball while falling over the goal line. Still, it looked like a touchdown.
But it wasn't. Butler knocked the ball loose, so Seferian-Jenkins juggled the ball while falling in. Officials ruled that he lost possession and didn't regain it until he was out of bounds. So instead of a Jets touchdown, it's actually a touchback. The Patriots get the ball at their own 20.
What a magnificently massive swing in this game.
Fourth quarter, 24-14: Patriots: That's now how the Patriots hoped to close out that drive, but they'll take the three points.
On second down, Cooks got called for OPI for setting a pick for Hogan on an incompletion. The Jets took the penalty and Brady threw incomplete on third down before harmless handing off inside on third down. So Gostkowski stepped out for a chip shot 28-yarder and drilled it.
So it's a 10-point lead. The Jets moved the ball on their last drive but chose to go with a fourth-down conversion attempt instead of a long field goal. We'll see what they're made of here.
End of third quarter, 21-14 Patriots: The third quarter comes to an end with Brady trying to draw the Jets offside at the New York 6-yard line on second-and-5. He didn't succeed there, but the Pats will open the fourth quarter in golden position to take a two-score lead.
They're in the midst of another long, grinding drive. Gillislee has carried a heavy load, Gronkowski drew a big penalty and made a pair of catches, and the Pats are flipping this game on its head.
Third quarter, 4:41, 21-14 Patriots: Another game-changing play by Devin McCourty.
This one came on fourth-and-1 at the Patriots' 34-yard line. McCown faked a handoff and then had to avoid the tackle of a blitzing Butler. McCown threw off balance, and McCourty picked it off. (He could have just batted it down, but interceptions are fun for players to accumulate. He only cost the Patriots six yards of field position.)
Another stop by the defense, which has rebounded in a big way since the dreadful start.
Third quarter, 11:22, 21-14 Patriots: A couple of massive third-down conversions, and the Patriots are back in the end zone -- this time getting their first lead of the game.
They completed a 75-yard drive in just 3:38, getting a 19-yard reception from Cooks on a third-and-13 and a 33-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown by Gronkowski on a third-and-11. That's a winning football drive.
They overcame an OPI call on Hogan which negated a 17-yarder to Cooks, too.
No team in the NFL is better at regularly turning an unmitigated disaster into a seven-point lead like the Patriots.
Third quarter, 15:00, 14-14: Second half underway. Pats with the ball.
Halftime, 14-14: Holy cow. Jeremy Kerley's incredible catch has been matched by Brandin Cooks.
Brady lobbed a deep shot up the left sideline to No. 14, and he Willie Mays-ed it while drifting out of bounds at the 2-yard line. Incredible athleticism on display on that one.
On first-and-goal, Brady fired through the hands of Gronkowski, who was in man coverage against Adams on the outside.
On second-and-goal, Brady went back to Gronkowski, again covered by Adams. This time, the Brady-Gronkowski connection did not miss. Gronkowski ran a delayed out right on the goal line and hauled in the bullet for six.
And -- crazily -- the Patriots do have that change for the double score going into and coming out of halftime.
What a massive interception that was by Butler.
The Jets took a knee to close out the half.
Second quarter, :35, 14-7 Jets: The Jets were looking to tack on a few points before halftime. Malcolm Butler said no. He stepped in front of Anderson up the right sideline, read it well, and made a play on the ball to pick it off.
Second quarter, 1:11, 14-7 Jets: The Patriots benefited from a very unintelligent penalty by Jordan Jenkins, but a deep shot to Gronkowski that should have drawn a pass interference flag did not. Instead it went down as an incompletion.
Gostkowksi came on to attempt a 47-yard field goal, and he missed to the right. Badly.
Second quarter, 1:38, 14-7 Jets: Kyle Van Noy sacked McCown, who was out near the right sideline, on third down, to force another Jets punt. Patriots' defense has certainly woken up -- albeit a bit late.
Amendola caught the punt at his own 29 and returned it out to the 43-yard line.
Second quarter, 3:02, 14-7 Jets: Phillip Dorsett entered the game for Hogan, and Brady decided to throw the ball deep to Dorsett up the middle with a bomb. Dorsett was double-covered, and Buster Skrine just picked it off. Bad pass, bad fight by Dorsett.
Jets take over on their own 22.
Second quarter, 3:13, 14-7 Jets: Hogan went up for a ball over the middle, didn't catch it, and then took a helmet from Marcus Maye in the rib cage. He stayed down and required medical attention. Not good.
Second quarter, 3:17, 14-7 Jets: The Patriots' defense just came up with another three-and-out. That's huge.
The Pats now take over, looking to drain the clock, score a touchdown to tie the game, and then receive to start the second half. Patriots are recovering decently after a horrific start on defense.
Second quarter, 5:19, 14-7 Jets: The Patriots are on the board. Thanks to a 25-yard catch by Gronkowski, a third-down 17-yard catch by Amendola, a pass interference penalty drawn in the end zone by Gronkowski, and a Lewis plunge from the 1-yard line, the Pats completed a 93-yard drive to get their first score of the game.
Lewis has 35 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Second quarter, 9:43, 14-0 Jets: Devin McCourty is sick of this, so he put it upon himself to make sure Seferian-Jenkins did not pick up a first down after making a catch on third-and-3. McCourty burst toward the tight end and drove him backward to force a punt.
The play prior, McCourty hit Anderson up high after Butler broke up a pass, drawing a flag. But the officials picked it up in what was a huge, mostly correct non-call.
Lac Edwards punt was downed at the 7-yard line, so Brady will start this drive backed up to his own end zone.
Second quarter, 11:15, 14-0 Jets: Badly needing a response ... the Patriots offense went three-and-out.
Brady short-hopped a throw to Amendola on first down before getting off a desperation pass to White on second down to gain just two yards. On third down, Morris Claiborne played perfect defense on Cooks to force an incompletion -- another comeback route on the sideline -- and a punt.
Jets take over at their own 38-yard line. It's a party at MetLife.
Second quarter, 12:18, 14-0 Jets: The Jets have doubled their lead. With ease.
They just rolled for another 78 yards and a touchdown, picking up the final 47 yards on consecutive completions. The first went to Kearse for 16 yards, with Bademosi on coverage. The next came on a crossing pattern by Kerley, with Butler in coverage. McCown put the perfect touch on it, Butler leaped and missed, and Kerley was off the races, high-stepping his way into the end zone.
McCown is 11-for-15 for 149 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs.
The Patriots' defense has never looked worse.
End of first, 7-0 Jets: The Jets close out the quarter with a pair of solid gains. Forte was not covered for a little dump over the middle, giving the Jets a quick and easy 15 yards. On the next play, McCown hit Seferian-Jenkins on a comeback on the right sideline for a gain of 8.
Seferian-Jenkins was engaged in some trash talk with Trey Flowers on the sideline after that. Demario Davis had been noticeably yapping on the previous series for the Jets. Clearly, they're feeling good out there. And with a 7-0 lead after a quarter, they have all the reason in the world to feel that way.
First quarter, :51, 7-0 Jets: The Patriots had a good drive going. Gillislee was running hard. Cooks converted a third down. Points were imminent.
But Gillislee ran off the right side on a first-and-10 and was careless with the football. Darron Lee simply poked it out while Gillislee was being tackled, and the Jets recovered. Huge play -- and that's the type of play that has allowed the Jets to go on their current three-game winning streak.
Jets take over at their own 22.
First quarter, 3:55, 7-0 Jets: The Patriots came up with a three-and-out on defense, and a much-needed three-and-out at that.
Deatrich Wise got pressure on McCown in the end zone on second down, and McCown couldn't connect with Anderson on a sideline comeback on third down, forcing the punt.
Amendola fielded it on a high bounce at his own 47 and was met immediately. Patriots start this one in much better field position.
First quarter, 5:31, 7-0 Jets: The offense picked up a couple of first downs -- first with a Dion Lewis run, second with a 19-yard Chris Hogan catch -- but stalled out near midfield and had to punt. It was a heck of a punt, as it checked up on the 1-yard line and was downed at the 4-yard line by Jones. But still, the Patriots probably would have preferred some points to try to level this game back off a bit.
Brady was just 2-for-5 on that drive, including a very bad Brandin Cooks drop and a deep overthrow to a triple-covered Hogan.
First quarter, 9:08, 7-0 Jets: The Jets began that drive on their own 12-yard line after a poor decision by ArDarius Stewart to take the opening kick out of the end zone. Trey Flowers showed off his ups on first down to bat down a Josh McCown pass, so it wasn't the start New York Was looking for.
On second down, McCown went deep up the right sideline to Robby Anderson, who had a step on Butler. The two fought for the football, and Butler eventually wrested it free once the two were on the turf.
On third-and-10, Anderson broke free from Butler and was able to create a ton of space for himself on the right side for a catch of 23 yards.
After the first down, the Jets had a short run by Forte and an incompletion over a crowded middle of the field, setting up a third-and-8 from the New York 37. McCown took a shotgun snap and, upon seeing nobody open, took off and casually jogged for 16 yards off the left side. That's the risk you take as a defense with an aggressive pass rush and man coverage in the secondary.
The Jets moved the chains again with a simple 12-yard pass to Forte, which pushed them onto the edge of field-goal range. A second-and-8 completion to Stewart set up a third-and-6, on which McCown was pressured heavily by Adam Butler. He heaved one downfield on what looked like a prayer, but it was actually right on the money to Kerley. Though Jonathan jones was in tight coverage, Kerley made an incredible catch.
After getting stuffed on two runs from the 1-yard line, the Jets went back to the air for third-and-goal. Elandon Roberts blew his coverage on Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who was wide open in the corner of the end zone. Touchdown Jets.
That's a 13-play, 88-yard drive by the Jets. Impressive start for them. Ugly, ugly start for the New England defense.
1:01 p.m.: The Pats won the toss and chose to defer. They'll start this game on defense.
11:32 a.m.: The Patriots have announced their inactive list, and former Jet David Harris won't be suiting up for this one. Here's the list.
CB Eric Rowe
RB Rex Burkhead
LB Harvey Langi
OL Cole Croston
CB Stephon Gilmore
OL Cameron Fleming
LB David Harris
For the Jets, Muhammad Wilkerson is active. That could be big. Here are the Jets' inactives:
QB Christian Hackenberg
RB Bilal Powell
DB Derrick Jones
LB Freddie Bishop
LB Obum Gwacham
OL Jonotthan Harrison
TE Jordan Leggett
11:22 a.m.: We already know that Stephon Gilmore is out due to a concussion. It's unclear when or how he suffered that concussion. We also know that Harvey Langi and his wife are in the hospital after being rear-ended in what was a frightening car crash in Foxboro.
Rex Burkhead and Eric Rowe are still out, too.
11 a.m.: It's Week 6 in the NFL, and first place in the AFC East is up for grabs this afternoon in the Meadowlands. What a world.
It's tough to get a real accurate feel for this game. A lot of factors point to it being a close contest. But then the presence of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick makes it feel like a blowout might just happen.
Despite that latter factor, the Patriots are just 2-2 at the Jets ever since the famous Butt Fumble in 2012. (Butt Fumble ... classic.) The Patriots won last year by five points and won in 2014 by just one point. Considering those two Patriots team eventually won Super Bowls, it speaks to how randomly close these Pats-Jets games can be.
So, it ought to be a good one. Follow along here for updates and analysis all afternoon long.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.