If the New England Patriots needed a game to put their quarterback controversy to rest, this one was most certainly not it.
While starting quarterback Mac Jones performed admirably in his first full game back from a high ankle sprain, his play still left much to be desired. Jones threw for 194 passing yards and a touchdown, but he also recorded an interception and almost nearly a pick-six on a pass that was called back for a roughing the passer penalty.
The score was about to be 17-3 Jets after that pick-six. Instead it's now 19-10 Patriots. That one roughing the passer penalty changed everything
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) October 30, 2022
Despite Jones’ inconsistent play, the Patriots were able to take down a Jets team that came into the matchup on a four-game winning streak. Here are three big takeaways from the victory.
1. The secondary looked less dominant than usual
New England’s secondary did force Jets quarterback Zach Wilson into three interceptions but also allowed him to throw for 355 passing yards and two touchdowns. It was an odd performance from a usually dominant Patriots defense that was lacking a few of its top players.
Defensive back Kyle Dugger was inactive for the game with an ankle injury, forcing second-year player Joshuah Bledsoe into more playing time. Bledsoe, who was on injured reserve all of last season, got repeatedly torched by Jets receivers all game long, including on New York’s touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Conklin.
Bledsoe provides value to the team as an athletic linebacker/safety prototype player, but with the hopeful return of Dugger in the near future, he may be best suited as a depth piece for the time being.
2. A poor showing on the offensive line
This was one of the worst performances from New England’s offensive line in a while.
Jones was sacked a whopping six times throughout Sunday’s game, as the Patritos’ front seemingly had no answers for New York’s pass rush.
Rookie offensive guard Cole Strange bore the brunt of this attack, putting up the worst performance of his season. In the second half of the game, right tackle Isaiah Wynn replaced Strange at left guard to try and take some of the load off the rookie.
Quinnen Williams blasted past Cole Strange. This looks to be the rookie's worst game of his young career.
— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) October 30, 2022
In the coming weeks, one can only hope that New England’s offensive line gets back to the dominant form that is expected of them.
3. Zach Wilson was forced to make mistakes
I mentioned last week that after the injury to dominating rookie running back Breece Hall, the Jets were going to have to rely more on their passing game moving forward.
The Patriots came into Sunday’s game with one goal in mind: to force Wilson to make mistakes. They came out of the game having achieved that goal.
Three takeaways from New England’s defense against New York’s more one-dimensional offense kept the Patriots in the game, even with the Jets’ offense thriving in spite of the struggles.
Considering how lifeless the Patriots’ offense has been in the last few weeks, Jerod Mayo’s defensive game-planning has to be perfect in order to lead the team to victory. Sunday’s game was an example of that fact, and likely more games will be, too, unless the offense can figure out their struggles.
