Jones Helps Patriots Survive Thursday Night Scare
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Foxboro was mired in a driving rain storm for nearly the entire day leading up to the Patriots Thursday Night Football game with the Jets. The dismal weather gave way to one of the best football games that NFL fans will see the entire season, with the Patriots winning 27-25 over the New York Jets on a last-second blocked field goal.
The Patriots got the ball to start the game and took full advantage of the opportunity by getting off to a blazing start. The Patriots needed just four plays to find the end zone in just 1:29 on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Shane Vereen. Vereen snuck behind the Jets defensive backs when Brady found him -- with Vereen making a terrific diving catch for the touchdown. Following the score, Vereen did injured teammate Stevan Ridley's trademark "kick the door in" celebration as an homage to his teammate, who was placed on injured reserve hours before the game. The Patriots offensive line played near-perfect football on the drive, not allowing the Jets aggressive front-7 to get to Tom Brady.
The Jets came right back on offense and moved the ball extremely well, especially in the ground game. They were helped by two huge 3rd down conversions on the drive, including Geno Smith running for a 1st down on 3rd down. The Jets were even able to punch the ball into the Patriots end zone on a pass from Smith to Jeremy Kerley, but the touchdown was called back on a holding penalty from Oday Oboushi. This allowed the Patriots to hold the Jets to a field goal, making it 7-3 Patriots.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAfter a quick 3-&-out by the Patriots, the Jets offense got back to work on the ground. Behind the powerful running of Chris Ivory, the Jets continued to control the pace of play. Another mental mistake from the Jets killed the drive again as Willie Colon was called for a hold and Jace Amaro dropped a wide open pas. The Jets were again forced to kick a field goal, this time 47 yards from Nick Folk to make the game 7-6 Patriots.
As the 1st quarter came to an end, the Jets controlled the ball for over 12 minutes of action, but still trailed the Patriots. They did take the lead on a 46-yard Folk field goal on their next drive, making it 9-7 Jets.
The Patriots finally got their offense moving, relying heavily on Shane Vereen. He ran the ball, caught the ball and helped the Patriots move 80 yards in 10 plays before catching a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brady. It was the first time that Vereen has had two receiving touchdowns in a game in his career.
The Jets were not discouraged by the drive, however, as Walter Powell returned the ensuing kickoff 62 yards to put the Jets in prime field position. They were unable to convert again, needing another Folk field goal to make it 14-12 Patriots.
The Patriots got the ball back with 1:09 left in the half and were led on a classic Tom Brady end of half drives to get them a last-second field goal to make the score 17-12 New England at the half.
The Jets took the ball to start the 2nd half and continued to run right down the middle of the Patriots defense. The Jets leaned on Ivory to pound the depleted middle of the Patriots defense to the tune of an 11-play 80-yard drive. Ivory gashed the middle of the Patriots defense, attacking middle linebacker Jamie Collins on the drive before punching in a 1-yard touchdown. The Ivory score gave the Jets their first lead at 19-17.
The Patriots were able to answer with a drive of their own, but were only able to convert a field goal out of the drive. The drive was kept alive on a great 3rd down conversion by Julian Edelman on a jet sweep for seven yards. The drive was capped with a 37-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal, giving the Patriots the lead back at 20-19.
The New England defense was finally able to stop the Jets offense on their next drive, forcing a punt for the first time on the night. The key play on the drive was a huge sack on 2nd down by Casey Walker, Dont'a Hightower and multiple other members of the Patriots defense.
The Patriots were not able to do anything with the ball, however, as they were forced to call on punter Ryan Allen for the third time.
The Patriots defense continued to carry the team, however, forcing a quick punt after Chandler Jones finally got to Geno Smith for a 15 yard sack. It was the first 3-&-out the Patriots forced in the game.
The Patriots offense continued to struggle, however, going 3-&-out again. Ryan Allen did a good job pinning the Jets inside their 10 yard line, but Brandon Browner was called for his 2nd holding penalty on the game to give the Jets new life.
That was before Geno Smith was injured for the Jets. Smith was pressured by Chris and Chandler Jones on a pass play and was hit by Chris Jones, hyper extending his left knee. Smith was helped off the field by the Jets athletic trainers. Smith was okay, however, only missing one play.
Both teams traded failing drives before a shanked, 29-yard punt from Ryan Quigley gave the Patriots great starting field position. They were able to take advantage of that position, despite their best efforts to ruin the drive. The Patriots had 2nd and goal from the 5 yard line before a false start from Tim Wright and an offensive pass interference by Brandon LaFell backed them up to the 19 yard line. Tom Brady was able to work his magic, however. Brady found Danny Amendola for his first touchdown of the season on a beautiful catch to give the Patriots an 8-point lead.
The Jets once again had the answer. This time it was Chris Johnson who pounded the ball to get the Jets a touchdown. The highlight play was a 3rd down conversion by Geno Smith -- where he ran for 5 yards despite Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones providing huge amount of pressure. Smith then found tight end Jeff Cumberland for a 12-yard touchdown a few plays later, beating Patrick Chung. Chung redeemed that play on the 2-point conversion attempt, which would have tied the game. Chung had good coverage on Jace Amaro and the conversion failed with the Patriots holding their 27-25 lead.
The ensuing on sides kick was a near-perfect kick by Folk, staying low and bouncing off the legs of Brandon LaFell. The Patriots got their second huge play from Danny Amendola, as he sprinted form about 20 yards behind the ball to dive on the on sides kick and give the Patriots the ball.
The Patriots killed some clock, but gave the Jets the ball back with one final attempt to win. The Jets drove the ball setting up a game-winning attempt for Nick Folk from 58 yards. Folk lined up but the kick was blocked by Chris Jones, who got redemption for the Patriots 2013 loss to the Jets where he was called for pushing the pile on a field goal in overtime -- allowing the Jets to win. The Patriots were able to escape the game against their divisional rival and win 27-25 to improve to 5-2.
The Patriots were out-gained 423 to 323 on the night and were led by Tom Brady's 261 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-37 passing. His favorite target on the night was Shane Vereen, who hauled in five catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Vereen also led the Patriots in rushing with 43 yards on 11 carries. It was clear in the absence of Stevan Ridley that Shane Vereen is now the feature back in the Patriots offense, gaining 114 total yards on the night.
The only other player to catch a touchdown was Danny Amendola, who brought in his first score of the year on what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.
The Patriots defense struggled, at times, as they adjusted to life without Jerod Mayo. They were paced by the other two linebackers -- Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins. Hightower had 13 total tackles and a sack while Collins had 13 tackles as well. The defense was gashed for 218 yards rushing from the Jets, led by Chris Ivory's 107 yards.
The Patriots will now have an extended break, not playing again until October 26 when they welcome the Chicago Bears to Gillette Stadium.
