EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Back in 2019, then New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold was famously caught on camera saying, “I’m seeing ghosts.” The ghouls were the Patriots defense, which shut out the Jets in a Patriots 33-0 Monday Night win. Darnold threw for just 86 yards to go with four interceptions.
On Sunday, back at MetLife Stadium, Halloween came early for the Jets and their rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. The second overall pick was intercepted four times in three quarters. That included two picks in his first two throws and three in his first five attempts. It was ugly and very reminiscent of that night Darnold probably hopes to forget.
The defensive onslaught led to Mac Jones earning the win of his NFL career as the Patriots dispatched the Pats, 25-6, on Sunday. The Patriots improve to 1-1 after a disappointing season opener. This was a strange game as it felt like a blowout, but the scoreboard never really reflected that.
Here are three main takeaways from the victory:
The Patriots are better off with their rookie quarterback
In a battle between first-round rookie quarterbacks, the Patriots came out on top. Mac Jones wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but the Patriots have to feel better about their quarterback situation.
To put it mildly, Wilson had a horrible, no-good and very bad day. His four interceptions cost the Jets 16 points.
Wilson’s first pass of the day was tipped by Jackson, tipped by Devin McCourty and then caught by Jackson. That led to a Nick Folk 46-yard field goal at 4:46 of the first quarter. Wilson’s second pass attempt was off the mark to Corey Davis and picked by Adrian Phillips at 4:17 of the first quarter. That led to a James White a 7-yard touchdown to put the Pats up, 10-0.
Jackson made his second interception at 5:57 of the second quarter on another inaccurate throw. Wilson went into halftime with a stat line of 3/7 for 45 yards with three interceptions and a 25.0 passer rating.
Wilson threw his fourth interception of the day at 11:21 of the third quarter. It was an easy pick for Devin McCourty as the ball was thrown right to him. The Patriots turned that into six points with Damien Harris scoring a 26-yard touchdown two plays later at 10:24 of the third quarter.
We were left wanting more from the Patriots offense
Maybe it was the pass protection. Maybe it was a rookie quarterback going up against a division rival in his first NFL away game. Whatever the case may be, we were still left wanting more from the Patriots passing game.
Jones was OK in his second NFL game, completing 22/30 passes for 186 yards with an 89.0 passer rating. The rookie left MetLife Stadium with his first NFL win. It never felt like the Jets were never in it, but the score didn’t reflect that. Add in the four Jets turnovers and we couldn’t help but feel like the Patriots offense should’ve done more on Sunday.
Jones averaged just 6.2 yards per throwing attempt on Sunday. That was down from 7.2 yards per attempt in the season-opener. It felt like Josh McDaniels kept the ‘training wheels’ on for his rookie quarterback in this matchup. Of course, the pass protection wasn’t perfect, but we came away from this win wishing to see Jones throw the ball downfield more.
White and Harris ran in for the Patriots only touchdowns on Sunday. White led the Patriots with 45 receiving yards. The offense settled for four field goals on Sunday, including two from the red zone.
Wilson finished 19/33 for 210 yards with four interceptions and a 37.0 passer rating.
The Patriots tackle depth is concerning
What we saw in the first half was what happens when you lack adequate offensive line depth. The Patriots clearly miss Trent Brown, who was ruled out of Sunday’s matchup with a calf injury.
Jones was sacked three times in the first half. On the first series, the Jets blitzed on third-and-9. Jones lost 10 yards on the sack by safety Marcus Maye and it pushed the Pats out of field goal range.
On the Patriots fourth drive, Jones was sacked twice in three plays. Both sacks looked like they were allowed by right tackle Yasir Durant, who was filling in for Brown. The first, at 9:52 of the second, was by John Franklin-Myers. He striped Jones, but Durant jumped on the ball for a loss of 11 yards. Then on third-and-13, at 8:32 of the second, Jones was sacked by Sheldon Rankins for a loss of seven.
Durant was replaced by Justin Herron at the end of the second quarter. That lasted nine plays. With 22 seconds left in the first half, Herron suffered an ankle injury. The backup tackle immediately left the field for the locker room, but was back to start the second half.
Left tackle Isaiah Wynn was called for two penalties – false start and holding. The Pats also had some issues running the ball and couldn’t punch it in from the 3-yard line at the end of the fourth.
The Patriots tackle depth didn’t look great this preseason. It still doesn’t look very good after two games.
