Another Patriots Blowout: Brady, Defense Lead Pats To 30-14 Win Over Jets
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
FOXBORO (CBS) -- The New England Patriots may be the best team in the National Football League. The New York Jets are ... not.
That much was apparent on Sunday afternoon, when the Patriots trounced the winless Jets 30-14 in a divisional matchup at Gillette Stadium.
Tom Brady completed 28 of his 41 passes for an even 306 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Brady now has seven touchdowns and zero interceptions on the season. He passed Drew Brees on the all-time leaderboard for regular-season passing touchdowns, and he set a new record for most touchdown passes in a season after a quarterback's 42nd birthday.
Rookie QB Jarrett Stidham made his NFL debut and threw a pick-six to Jamal Adams in his first-ever series.
For the Jets, Luke Falk was 12-for-22 for 98 yards with no touchdowns and one interception while taking five sacks in his first career start.
The Patriots' defense pitched a first-half shutout for the fifth consecutive game, dating back to the AFC Championship Game in Kansas City.
The Jets received the opening kickoff but had to punt from midfield after a third-down incompletion. The Patriots then opened the scoring with a nine-play, 88-yard drive capped off with a 5-yard touchdown run by Sony Michel. The big play of that drive came when Brady connected with tight end Ryan Izzo for an easy 41-yard gain off a playaction fake. Stephen Gostkowski, though, missed the extra point.
The Patriots scored again on their next drive, with Brady hitting a wide open Phillip Dorsett for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
The Patriots made it 20-0 early in the second quarter, when Brady patiently waited for Julian Edelman to get open in the end zone. Brady took a hit while delivering the 3-yard touchdown pass.
The Jets kept the Patriots off the scoreboard for the remainder of the second quarter, but the Patriots added a field goal after a Falk interception in the third quarter before Rex Burkhead found the end zone from two yards out to make the score 30-0.
The Jets finally got on the board when Gunner Olszewski muffed a punt late in the third quarter. Arthur Maulet recovered the football in the end zone for a Jets touchdown. The Jets scored their second touchdown when Jamal Adams picked off Stidham and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown.
Edelman suffered a chest injury late in the first half. He headed to the locker room before halftime began, and did not emerge from the locker room after halftime.
The Jets were without their No. 1 quarterback, as Sam Darnold remains sidelined with mononucleosis. Backup QB Trevor Siemian suffered an ankle injury last week on Monday Night Football, thus thrusting Falk into the starting role.
The Patriots will hit the road for their next two games, traveling to Buffalo to face the Bills next week and then to Washington to face the Redskins in Week 5.
