Patriots Live Blog: Blount's Third-Down Run Ices Narrow 22-17 Victory For Pats
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
Final, 22-17 Patriots: The Jets couldn't stop LeGarrette Blount, who burst through the left side of the line for a gain of 23 yards to get deep into Jets territory. From there, Brady took a couple of knees, and the Patriots escape with a win.
Fourth quarter, 1:43, 22-17 Patriots: Chris Long has been a quiet contributor all year long. He finall made a play that will make a highlight reel. He came off the right end and chopped down on Fitzpatrick as the QB tried to make a pass downfield. Long knocked the ball loose, and Trey Flowers recovered it. And this one is pretty close to over. The Jets have two timeouts.
Fourth quarter, 1:56, 22-17 Patriots: It would appear as though the Patriots are going to pull this one out, thanks to a gutsy call and some great execution on a fourth-and-4.
Opting to bypass a 55-yard field goal attempt, Brady took a snap and immediately looked right to White, who beat the linebacker Lee to the outside and outraced him to the sticks. White picked up the first down by about six inches.
The Patriots got there thanks to a 24-yard catch by Edelman, followed by a 16-yard pass to Lewis.
After the fourth-down conversion, Brady threw his best pass of the day to Hogan, who was at the Jets' 8-yard line.
On first-and-goal after the two-minute warning, Brady took a shotgun snap and connected with Mitchell running an out route on the left side of the field. The rookie made the catch and danced inside the pylon for the go-ahead score.
On the two-point conversion, Brady handed to White on a speed sweep type of play (it might have technically been a pass, as Brady shoveled it to White in motion), and White outran everybody to the same pylon where Mitchell scored. However, after a review, officials ruled that White held the ball in his left arm and it never actually crossed the plane of the goal line.
And just like that, the Patriots lead by five. They just need one more stop.
Fourth quarter, 5:04, 17-16 Jets: The Jets kicked off their drive on a promising note, with Fitzpatrick hitting Enunwa over the middle for a gain of 23 yards on the first play, a completion which got the Jets out of their own end of the field. They ended up getting stuck there, with Fitzpatrick taking an intentional grounding penalty on second down while getting dragged down my Malcom Brown.
Amendola had a decent return that would have set up the Patriots at their own 41-yard line. But a penalty on Devin McCourty for holding sets them all the way back to their own 17. That's a huge penalty, given the time and score.
Fourth quarter, 7:02, 17-16 Jets: That was an impressive drive from the Patriots ... for a while. They drove quickly, going to Mitchell for 13 yards, Hogan for 23 yards and Edelman for another 8. But once they got to the 26-yard line, things got tight. Lewis ran for four, Brady threw an incompletion to White that was nearly picked off by Pryor, and then Brady's third down deep ball to Mitchell in the end zone was about 1 inch too far for the rookie receiver to haul in.
Gostkowski hit a 49-yard field goal, which means his missed 39-yarder before halftime is currently the difference in this football game.
Fourth quarter, 10;26, 17-13 Jets: The Patriots' defense really had been doing a solid job, recovering from a bad start. But that ended on that drive.
They gave up huge chunk after huge chunk, leading to the Jets driving into the red zone. There, Fitzpatrick lobbed a ball to the back corner of the end zone for Enunwa. Butler made a leaping attempt to break it up, and it looked like he had a good read on it, but the pass went just over his outstretched hand. Enunwa made the catch, and he was initially ruled out of bounds, but review showed he got a foot and a butt cheek down in bounds, and so the Jets lead 17-13 in the fourth quarter. Ugly stuff for the Patriots.
Fourth quarter, 14:49, 13-10 Patriots: Brady overthrew Hogan on third down, something that's been a bit of a trend today for the QB, and the Patriots had to punt.
Jets take over at their own 27-yard line. Can they take a fourth-quarter lead?
End of third quarter, 13-10 Patriots: It'll be third-and-5 from the 26-yard line when the fourth quarter begins. James Develin made a catch on second-and-5 to move the chains, which was Develin's first reception of the year.
Third quarter, 2:24, 13-10 Patriots: The Pats' defense once again did its job, though Kyle Van Noy may have gotten lucky to not have drawn a pass interference penalty on a deep ball to C.J. Spiller up the left sideline. Van Noy definitely made some contact with Spiller as he waited for the ball to get to him, but it was minor, and Spiller ended up making an old-fashioned drop, so the officials let them play on.
The Jets did pick up a couple of conversions on third downs, with Fitzpatrick diving ahead for one and Powell running for another. But they stalled out at midfield. Amendola made a fair catch deep in Patriots territory, where Brady will try to turn this one into a two-possession lead. My guess is that he'll be relying on Dion Lewis to do it.
Third quarter, 7:34, 13-10 Patriots: The Patriots got crafty, as they headed to the line on a fourth-and-1 from the 18-yard line. Brady went with the hard count and drew Wilkerson offsides, thus giving the Patriots a free first down. It looked like Belichick was making his way down the sideline to call a timeout if the Jets didn't jump, but we will never know.
The offense couldn't turn it into anything positive though. Blount ran for two yards, and then Brady threw incompletions to Lewis and White, which forced them to bring on the field goal unit. Gostkowski hit this one, a chip shot at 29 yards, and the Patriots have their first lead of the game.
As noted, Bennett did return to the field but clearly was not fully functional, especially as a blocker.
Third quarter, 9:24, 10-10: Interestingly, Bennett returned to the field. He appears to have no strength at all in his lower half, but he's trying to gut it out.
Third quarter, 12:55, 10-10: From bad to worse. The Patriots are now without any tight ends, after Martellus Bennett appeared to suffer an injury to his lower left leg after getting tackled on the team's first offensive play of the second half. He was already dealing with a right ankle injury.
Gronkowski and Bennett are the only active tight ends for the Patriots today.
Third quarter, 13:07, 10-10: Thanks to a holding penalty on Breno Giacomini to start the drive, the Patriots were able to force a three-and-out to start this second half.
Danny Amendola caught the punt at his own 22 and took it eight yards upfield. Brady is heading back to the field, and Gronkowski remains in the locker room. It would appear the day is done for No. 87. (Shortly after this post, the Patriots announced that Gronkowski is indeed done for the day.)
Third quarter, 15:00, 10-10: Gostkowski's kickoff went for a touchback, and the second half begins with the Jets starting at their own 25-yard line.
Halftime, 10-10: Stephen Gostkowski is a problem for the Patriots. He just lined up for a 39-yarder from the right hash, and he pulled it all the way across the goalposts to miss wide left. He used to be automatic, but he just has not been this year.
The missed field goal came after the Patriots continued their trend of being nonchalant at the end of first halves, as they allowed 20 seconds to tick off the clock instead of using their final timeout. As a result, they only got one shot at the end zone instead of two. And then the lack of aggressiveness was compounded by Gostkowski missing a kick he absolutely needs to make.
So, the game heads to halftime tied 10-10. The Jets played a really good first quarter. The Patriots have made a handful of good plays. That's where this game is currently standing.
Second quarter, 1:58, 10-10: The Jets converted another third down, this one a 21-yard completion to a wide-open Enunwa over the middle of the field. But Eric Rowe broke up a pass on a third-and-4 from the Patriots' 36-yard line, perhaps getting away with some early contact on receiver Jalin Marshall.
Nick Folk went out to attempt a 54-yard field goal, but the Patriots ended up blocking it and recovering out near midfield. The Patriots have certainly flipped this game on its head, and they'll be looking to find the end zone right here to take a lead into halftime.
It looked like it was Alan Branch who blocked that low trajectory kick.
Second quarter, 6:29, 10-10: The Patriots have officially started this game over again. They quickly turned that fumble into a touchdown, thanks to Julian Edelman making a spectacular toe-tapping catch along the right sideline for a gain of 18 yards to start the drive. Three plays later on a third-and-5, Brady hit Edelman over the middle for a gain of 7 to keep the drive moving. Dion Lewis then broke off a 15-yard run to get the Patriots deep into Jets territory.
On second-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Brady actually fumbled the ball but managed to pick it right back up and find Malcolm Mitchell running across the back of the end zone. Mitchell bobbled the ball too but managed to make the catch, and this one's a new ballgame, tied at 10-10.
Second quarter, 9:46, 10-3 Jets: The Jets looked like they were in the midst of another drive, as Fitzpatrick connected with Robby Anderson for a gain of about 20 yards. But the slight receiver didn't protect the football, and Malcolm Butler punched it out and fell on top of it, giving the Pats the ball on the Jets' side of the field.
Second quarter, 10:45, 10-3 Jets: The Patriots got a good catch out of Malcolm Mitchell on a third down, and they also picked up 30 yards on a pass interference penalty after Chris Hogan went deep to Mitchell on a WR pass. But the offense stalled in the red zone, with Brady sandwiching incompletions around a short Dion Lewis run. So they had to settle for a short field goal, and it's now 10-3 Jets.
Second quarter, 14:56, 10-0 Jets: It just looks too easily. Fitzpatrick saw Marshall in a man-to-man situation with Butler, and the QB simply lofted one up and let his receiver get it. That he did, with Butler never getting his feet off the ground. Too easy, and the Jets lead 10-0.
As an update on Gronkowski -- the Patriots announced he suffered a back injury and his return is questionable.
End of first quarter, 3-0 Jets: That was just about a bad a first quarter as the Patriots could have imagined. They're not executing at all, and the Jets are now making it look all too easy to drive down the field. This drive started with a deep ball to Enunwa up the right sideline, just over the outstretched arm of Malcolm Butler for a gain of 40. Later, Marshall came up with an 11-yard pickup on a third-and-9, and when the second quarter begins, it'll be second-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
First quarter, 2:50, 3-0 Jets: And this is not good news at all for the Patriots. Rob Gronkowski is heading to the locker room with members of the training staff. That's not a positive sign, given his history.
Immediately, you have to wonder if he should have been out there in the first place. There was a report just 13 days ago that said he suffered a punctured lung, and though another report said the injury did not involve the puncture of a lung, it was nevertheless something that you would think the 9-2 Patriots wouldn't want to mess with.
Right now, a best-case scenario for the Patriots is that Gronkowski is simply too uncomfortable to play and did not worsen the injury.
First quarter, 4:42, 3-0 Jets: Rob Gronkowski wanted a pass interference penalty on third down when cornerback Darryl Roberts grabbed the tight end's arm while a pass sailed toward them up the right sideline. He had a case, but he also pushed off, so the flags stayed in the officials' pockets, and the Patriots punted.
Jonathan Jones once again showed poor awareness when he wrapped up and tackled Marcus Williams after the returner had signaled for a fair catch. A flag flew, but for some reason, the officials picked it up. Curious.
First quarter, 7:02, 3-0 Jets: The Patriots' defense responded well there, with Devin McCourty making a strong tackle of Quincy Enunwa on third down. He ended up stopping him just a couple of inches before the first down marker, leading to a Jets punt. Danny Amendola made the fair catch at the 34-yard line, and the Patriots will try to mount an actual drive here.
Not a lot of life or flow to this game early. Not a huge crowd, not a lot of emotion coming from the stands or on the field thus far.
First quarter, 8:56, 3-0 Jets: Really not a good start at all for New England, as the Patriots punted for the second time in as many drives. Blount did run for a first down to start the drive (with Brady awkwardly leading the way as a fullback on the cutback across the field), but the drive stalled out. Brady threw deep for Gronkowski on third down, but Gronkowski didn't appear to have the same jets as normal. The result was an overthrow for an incompletion.
On the punt, the ball bounced off a Jets player's leg, but Jonathan Jones was unaware of that development, allowing the Jets to fall on the ball.
First quarter, 10:29, 3-0 Jets: There was some bending from the Patriots' defense on that drive, as Ryan Fitzpatrick twice connected with Brandon Marshall to pick up first downs. The first came on the Jets' first play from scrimmage, with Fitzpatrick throwing to Marshall's back shoulder with Malcolm Butler in coverage. It went for 13 yards.
Three plays later on third-and-4, Marshall ran a deep out, and McCourty (who was guarding against a deep route) couldn't get there in time, allowing for a gain of 20.
The Patriots did come up with a third-down stop after that, but Nick Folk boomed a 51-yard field goal through the uprights to give the Jets a lead.
Interestingly, the Jets were called for holding on that third-down stop, but the Patriots declined the penalty. That decline allowed Folk to make the field goal.
Not many people expected the Jets to hold a lead at any point today, so we've already got some intrigue in the opening minutes.
First quarter, 13:43, 0-0: Not the greatest start in the world for the Patriots. After Brady overthrew James White on a quick pass on first down and then threw incomplete from a collapsing pocket on second down, he threw to Dion Lewis on the right side on third-and-10. Lewis made three receivers look foolish in pursuit as he managed to turn what looked like a minimal gain into a first-down pickup.
The Patriots then waltzed to the line in no rush, and as a result, Brady had to take a timeout as the play clock neared double zeros. That turned out to be costly, as it allowed Jets head coach time to challenge the spot of the Lewis play. In real time, Lewis looked to have been stopped short, but the Jets weren't going to challenge initially. The Patriots' timeout allowed for the call to be overturned on replay.
So the Patriots faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 29-yard line. They brought the punt team out late, after feigning like they were going for it, and the Jets will take over on their own 26-yard line.
Additionally, Jordan Richards suffered what looked like a right leg injury in punt pursuit.
First quarter, 14:55, 0-0: Danny Amendola took the opening kick from a yard deep in the end zone out to the 20-yard line, and this one's underway.
4:23 p.m.: The Jets have won the toss and elected to defer. The Patriots will start the game with the football.
4:20 p.m.: Just five minutes from kickoff. The Bills have won their game, and the Dolphins haven't yet finished theirs. Not that the AFC East is really a point of concern for the Patriots at this point in time, but it's always best to know what the competition's doing.
3 p.m.: The inactive lists are out.
PATRIOTS
D.J. Foster, RB
Justin Coleman, CB
Woodrow Hamilton, DL
Matt Slater, WR/ST
LaAdrian Waddle, T
Matt Lengel, TE
Cyrus Jones, CB
JETS
Christian Hackenberg, QB
Charone Peake, WR
Devin Smith, WR
Marcus Williams, CB
Nick Marshall, CB
Brandon Shell, T
Nick Mangold, C
Coleman's appearance on the list means that the Patriots are pretty thin at cornerback. Eric Rowe will assuredly be pressed into more activity than usual.
Jabaal Sheard is notably absent from the list, after he was left at home last weekend for the team's trip to San Francisco.
12:50 p.m.: It's a beautiful day for football, and though there were a number of questions about players' health and availability throughout the week, it appears as though the Patriots will take on the Jets at relative full strength this afternoon.
Tom Brady was listed as questionable but is expected to play. That's not much of a surprise, considering the guy has never missed a game in his life when he's able to stand.
What was slightly more surprising was the report that said Rob Gronkowski is likely to play. Gronkowski suffered a chest injury two weeks ago after absorbing a heavy hit from Seahawks safety Earl Thomas. The severity of the injury was disputed in different reports, but the fact that he's apparently been cleared for contact already is a positive sign that it wasn't overly serious.
Additionally, Martellus Bennett, Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan -- all of whom were listed as questionable -- are reportedly going to play. So Brady should be able to put up some points against the Jets' passing defense, which ranks 22nd in the NFL in yards allowed per attempt.
The Patriots have won three of the last four against the Jets, and eight of the last 10. Most of them have been close games in recent years, with the average margin of victory since 2013 being just under four points, including two overtime games. Circumstances suggest that this year's first meeting won't be quite as close as the other ones, but you never know what will happen when the Patriots and Jets take the field.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
