Patriots Live Blog: Jets Win In Overtime After Questionable Penalty Call
Final (OT), 30-27 Jets: Sure enough the penalty killed the Patriots' chances, as Nick Folk kicks a 42-yarder to win the game.
That penalty is going to be the big story, as well it should.
Overtime, 7:11, 27-27: Nick Folk missed a 56-yard attempt, but the Patriots were called for unsportsmanlike conduct, a 15-yard penalty on Chris Jones, and the Jets now will have a chip shot to win the game.
Jones was called for pushing a teammate into the line of scrimmage. It seems like a very bizarre call at this moment of a football game.
Overtime, 13:55, 27-27: A 15-yard completion to Gronkowski on the first play of overtime goes for naught, as he throws three straight incompletions to lead to a punt.
Ryan Allen boomed it 62 yards into the end zone, and the Jets take over first-and-10 at their 20-yard line. Next team to score wins.
Overtime, 15:00, 27-27: After that long drive, the Patriots offense will get right back to work, as they won the toss and will receive, of course.
As a reminder, a field goal on the opening drive overtime no longer wins the game, as the Jets would get their chance with the ball if that happened. But a Patriots touchdown on this drive would win the game, and any points after the initial drive wins the game as well.
End of regulation, 27-27: The Jets take a knee, and we are heading to ooooovverrrrtimeeeee. Or just overtime, if you're more old school.
Fourth quarter, :16, 27-27: It was a mighty nice drive for the Patriots, and it may have been a touchdown drive if Gronkowski could have hauled in a one-handed catch over the middle of the field.
Alas, he could not, but the Patriots were in field goal range, and Stephen Gostkowski -- who's been money this year -- drilled the 44-yard field goal to tie the game.
The Patriots drove 62 yards but then stalled out after the Gronkowski drop.
Fourth quarter, 2:10, 27-24 Jets: Alfonzo Dennard made a diving play to break up a second down pass, and Steve Gregory harassed Jeff Cumberland enough to help cause a bobble on a third down pass, and the Jets had to punt.
The Patriots have all three timeouts plus the two-minute warning, but they'll need to go 92 yards for a touchdown if they want to win it on this drive, because that punt was a great one by Ryan Quigley.
Fourth quarter, 6:25, 27-24 Jets: The Patriots moved the ball, but after Brady nearly threw another pick-six on second down, his long bomb to Dobson on third down was just overthrown, and they're forced to punt.
It's on the defense one more time to either force a punt or at worst hold the Jets to a field goal. A touchdown here, and the chances of another Patriots comeback become close to nil.
Fourth quarter, 8:21, 27-24 Jets: Thanks to Stephen Hill getting called for offensive pass interference in the end zone, and the Jets following that up with a false start, the Pats get the ball back. Julian Edelman returned the Jets' punt out to the 25-yard line, and Brady and the offense will try to drive to tie or take the lead here.
Credit to Chandler Jones for getting to the quarterback yet again, this time hitting Smith's arm as he threw to force an incompletion.
The drive probably shouldn't have even been what it was, because Chandler Jones was penalized 15 yards for gently shoving a football player during a football game. It was the softest of soft calls, especially considering a Jets defensive back wasn't penalized for shoving Kenbrell Thompkins' head into the ground after an incompletion on the previous Patriots drive.
Fourth quarter, 12:58, 27-24 Jets: The Pats don't score a touchdown due to Rob Gronkowski getting called for offensive pass interference on a pass to Brandon Bolden, but they do get back on the board with a field goal to cut the lead to three.
The offense looked much better on that drive, but still far from perfect. On the first-and-10 following the negated pass to Bolden (there was a personal foul on the Jets), Brady had all day to stand in the pocket, but his pass to Thompkins was behind the receiver. And on third down, Brady's lobbed pass to Gronkowski fell harmlessly to the turf. Maybe Gronkowski lost it in the sun, or maybe he wasn't in the spot Brady thought he'd be.
Nevertheless, the Patriots would have much preferred a touchdown. Now, it's on the defense to try to get the ball right back to Brady.
End of third quarter, 27-21 Jets: The Patriots have already gained more yards on this drive (57) than they had all quarter long. Stevan Ridley ran for 21 yards on first down, and Brady connected with Edelman over the middle for a 12-yard gain. When the fourth quarter begins, it'll be second-and-2 near midfield for the Patriots.
It seems hard to believe, but with a touchdown here, the Patriots can get back the lead, despite all of those issues in the third quarter.
Third quarter, 1:30, 27-21 Jets: A 21-yard punt return by Josh Cribbs (he's having an impact on this game) and a 17-yard run by Chris Ivory on first down set up the Jets in field goal position. Nick Folk boots it through the uprights, and the Patriots trail by six. What an absolute disaster for New England in this third quarter. They're simply not doing anything right on offense, and frankly, I have no idea how they try to fix it on the fly.
Third quarter, 3:13, 24-21 Jets: Things are an absolute mess for the Patriots offensively. Brady got sacked again on first down, as Muhammed Wilkerson came through the line unblocked for a free shot on Brady. Ridley was stuffed on second down, and Brady's third down pass had no chance of moving the chains, even if it had been completed.
The Patriots now have negative-5 yards of offense in the third quarter.
Third quarter, 4:33, 24-21 Jets: Geno Smith ran for exactly 13 yards on a third-and-13 (questionable spot, but that's neither here nor there), and he finished it off with a scramble to the right side for an eight-yard touchdown run to give the Jets the lead.
The Patriots' defense couldn't capitalize on Devin McCourty's extra-effort play to knock a touchdown out of Jeff Cumberland's hands, and Geno makes them pay with six.
That was an eight-play, 52-yard scoring drive, and the Jets have every last bit of momentum in this game.
Yet, there are more than 19 minutes left on the clock, and if Brady can keep the offense composed (and maybe start throwing to some receivers not named Gronkowski), the Pats can be OK.
Third quarter, 8:09, 21-17 Patriots: The offensive line is having a lot of trouble protecting Brady, as he was sacked on first down for a loss of seven. His third-and-13 pass to Gronkowski fell incomplete, and the Jets take over near midfield.
If the Patriots want to steady the ship, protecting Brady would be a good place to start.
Third quarter, 9:42, 21-17 Patriots: A defensive pass interference call seemed to put the Patriots in a precarious position, but back-to-back sacks by Chandler Jones and Chris Jones set the Jets up with a third-and-22, which they couldn't come close to converting.
The Joneses each have two sacks today, and those two were huge there, with the Jets riding all kinds of momentum.
Third quarter, 12:42, 21-17 Patriots: The Jets are flying pretty high right now, as Ridley gets stood up by a wall of green on a third-and-1, forcing the Patriots to punt after a three-and-out. Josh Cribbs returned the Ryan Allen boomer 14 yards to the Jets' 40-yard line.
Third quarter, 14:27, 21-17 Patriots: What a terrible start to the half for the Patriots. Coples stripped Brady of the ball on first down, but Brady was able to recover. It didn't matter though, because Antonio Allen picked off an underthrown pass to Gronkowski and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Game-changer.
Third quarter, 15:00, 21-10 Patriots: The Pats take over, first-and-10 from their 20-yard line, to start the third quarter.
Halftime, 21-10 Patriots: The Pats weren't able to score, as Tom Brady got crushed by Sheldon Richardson and Calvin Pace on third down. He fumbled as he took a shot low and high from the two Jets, bu Sebastian Vollmer jumped on the loose ball to prevent the Jets from taking over at midfield.
Instead, Ryan Allen punted, and the Jets took over from their 20 with just 10 seconds left. An inside handoff for the Jets, and the teams head to their locker rooms.
Second quarter, :54, 21-10 Patriots: Suddenly, defense is the word at MetLife stadium. Chris Jones came up with a sack of Smith, who fumbled the next handoff to set up a third-and-long. Smith threw deep to Stephen Hill, but safety Duron Harmon broke up the pass to force a punt.
Edelman had another huge return, but Jamie Collins had one of the most blatant blocks in the back possible, and it gets called back. First-and-10 from the 22.
Second quarter, 3:07, 21-10 Patriots: So much for those pre-halftime points, as a Ryan Wendell holding penalty and a screen pass blown up by David Harris leads to a third-and-17. Brady's long pass to Gronkowski was broken up, and the Pats had to punt. Now it'll be the Jets trying to punch it in prior to the break.
Second quarter, 4:18, 21-10 Patriots: The Jets go three-and-out. The Pats have another chance to score before halftime, and then they'll get the ball to start the second half.
Second quarter, 5:15, 21-10 Patriots: Stevan Ridley had only touched the ball once before getting called into action on a fourth-and-inches on the Jets' 19-yard line. He picked up the yard, and a handful of plays later, he busted one outside to the right and high-stepped his way into the end zone for a touchdown.
The Pats were set up by Gronkowski yet again making his presence felt, as the big man drew a defensive holding penalty over the middle on a second-and-15 from the New York 22-yard line. Ridley took the first-down handoff 17 yards for the touchdown.
Second quarter, 7:49, 14-10 Patriots: The Patriots came up with their second third-down stop of the day -- sort of. Jeff Cumberland helped them out by running out of bounds short of the sticks on second down, and Chris Ivory couldn't pick up the yard on the ensuing third down, forcing the Jets to punt for the first time of the day.
And on the punt, Julian Edelman had a pretty impressive return, eluding several tackles before running all the way cross the field and up left sideline for a 38-yard return.
Second quarter, 9:35, 14-10 Patriots: A jump ball to Gronkowski on third-and-3 near midfield got broken up by Antonio Allen, but Brady rushed the Pats to the line, seeing something worth exploiting on the Jets side of the ball. New York called a timeout though, and the punt team came on for New England.
Allen's punt went into the end zone, which isn't the worst thing when you consider how dangerous Josh Cribbs can be.
Second quarter, 11:11, 14-10 Patriots: The Jets had been a perfect 6-for-6 on third downs, including a 22-yard gain on that third-and-21 to start the quarter. But the defense finally made a stop on third-and-3 in the red zone, forcing the Jets to kick a field goal to cut the New England lead to 14-10.
Kyle Arrington is getting burned badly all over the field by Jeremy Kerley, who has five receptions for 68 yards already. He's going to need some help, but it's clear early on that the absence of Aqib Talib is a big one.
End of first quarter, 14-7 Patriots: The first quarter ends with Chandler Jones leaving D'Brickashaw Ferguson in his dust and sacking Geno Smith on a second-and-11 play. Chandler Jones has been a monster this season. It'll be third-and-20 for the Jets from their own 38-yard line when the second quarter begins. They've had a few big gains already today, so that's not an impossible situation for them.
First quarter, 1:32, 14-7 Patriots: The Jets were driving yet again. And then ... they weren't.
Geno Smith threw to his right to David Nelson, and rookie cornerback Logan Ryan picked off the pass and had a clear path all the way to the end zone, 81 yards away.
And just like that, the Patriots lead 14-7.
The Jets had driven 50 yards, including a 25-yard pass on the first play of the drive on a pass to Nelson. Josh Cribbs then took two straight direct snaps and ran for 12 yards, before Bilal Powell took a direct snap and ran for two yards. Smith and Nelson connected again for 20 yards two plays before the pick.
Credit to Logan Ryan for jamming Nelson at the line and disrupting the route, then jumping in front of the receiver to make a play on the football.
First quarter, 5:58, 7-7: Rob Gronkowski is back, and he's already making an impact.
He picked up a first down on his first catch of the season, a 12-yard gain on a second-and-10. He then had what would have been a huge catch-and-run, but they play was blown dead at the snap due to a neutral zone infraction.
But then Gronk did what Gronk does, running right up the seam and catching a bullet from Tom Brady for a 30-yard gain, which set up the Patriots on the 1-yard line.
Brandon Bolden scored on the next play, but it was blown dead due to a Jet being offside in the Pats' backfield. It took a touchdown off the board, but two plays later, Bolden was back in the end zone, and the score was tied. Bolden's run was to the right side, where No. 87 sealed the edge with a solid block. Suffice it to say, the Patriots are happy to have him back on the field.
First quarter, 9:43, 7-0 Jets: The Patriots' defense looks vulnerable, and Geno Smith looks awfully comfortable to start this game, and that's evident in the Jets' opening drive.
It began when Jeff Cumberland (who wasn't in anybody's game preview) beat Dont'a Hightower in coverage for a 25-yard reception along the right sideline on the first play of the game. It continued when Steve Gregory hit Kyle Arrington instead of receiver Jeremy Kerley, allowing him to move the chains and keep the drive alive. And the absence of Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly hurt the Patriots as Chris Ivory ran for 19 yards on four carries.
It set the Jets up for a third-and-7 from the New England 12-yard line, and Smith had plenty of time to step up and deliver a strike to Kerley at the front left corner of the end zone. Kyle Arrington bumped Kerley at the goal line and then watched as Kerley ran toward the sideline, wide open for six.
The Jets converted all three of their third downs on the drive, including the touchdown play.
I think this is going to be one of those days where you see a lot of Bill Belichick down on one knee, coaching up the defense. Because that was far too easy for the Jets.
First quarter, 15:00: The Patriots won the toss and elected to defer. Stephen Gostkowski's kick sailed out of the end zone, and this game is under way.
12:46 p.m.: You can check out all of WBZ's and The Sports Hub's predictions here before this one begins, but as you can imagine, there's some unanimity in them. I'm not sure there's anyone in the world who's really picking the Jets today, which may make them dangerous.
12:28 p.m.: Gronk is the big story line here, and for good reason. His much-delayed return to the field created a soap opera of sorts, one that is typically reserved for the Patriots' opponent today, not the Patriots themselves.
And while it would be unfair to expect Gronkowski to be on the field for the majority of snaps today, he should be out there every singly time the Patriots get within the 25-yard line. The Patriots have the 30th-ranked red zone offense, which is so un-Patriot-like and un-Brady-like that something has got to give. Getting the monstrous Gronkowski to run up the seam and haul in any pass that sails through his zip code is a good way for Brady to change that trend.
12:19 p.m.: WBZ-TV's Levan Reid checks in with his thoughts on the inactives list:
Josh Boyce is out and this means Austin Collie will get some more snaps. He's proven to be a quick learner. Collie has gotten the trust of Tom Brady and Josh has fallen out of favor.
Tavon Wilson could be the disappointment of the year. He looked good early in his first season and now he can't get on the field. His confidence is shaken and his spot his gone.
11:30 a.m.: It's official -- Rob Gronkowski is back.
The Patriots tight end will be active for today's game in New Jersey, ready to take on the Jets.
The Patriots will be without Danny Amendola and Aqib Talib, both on the inactive list, but the return of Gronkowski should be a major boost for Tom Brady, especially in the red zone.
Kickoff is in about 90 minutes, and I'll have all the pregame updates leading up to the coin toss, as well as live commentary throughout the entire game as the Patriots try to improve to 6-1.
