Three Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ Needed Victory Over Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Jets went about as expected.

Zach Wilson was terrible, New England’s offense did very little against New York’s defense and the Patriots emerged with a narrow, hard-fought win. The final score at MetLife Stadium was an appropriate 15-10.

The Patriots held a 10-3 halftime lead, largely thanks to a 58-yard touchdown catch from tight end Pharaoh Brown. They managed just three points on offense in the second half, and an 87-yard touchdown drive from the Jets in the fourth made it a three-point game. But Matthew Judon sacked Wilson in the end zone for a safety on New York’s third-to-last drive and the Jets went three-and-out on their next attempt. They came up empty with a last-ditch hail-mary attempt in the final seconds.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones did exactly what he was supposed to do — and a little more. Jones completed 15 of 29 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown and didn’t turn the ball over. He made some big throws when he needed to.

On the other side, Wilson completed 18 of 36 passes for 157 yards and zero touchdowns to go along with zero turnovers. He was sacked three times and made some horrible decisions throughout.

Overall, the Patriots racked up 358 yards of total offense compared to 171 from the Jets. Perhaps more importantly, New England went 8-of-19 on third down while New York went 2-of-14.

The Patriots improved to 1-2 with the win while the Jets dropped to 1-2 with the loss. The Patriots will visit the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday.

Here are three studs and three duds from Sunday’s rain-soaked contest:

STUDS
RB Ezekiel Elliott
This is exactly the kind of game New England got Elliott for, and he delivered with his best game since joining the Patriots. The veteran finished with 16 carries for 80 yards, including some tough yards in the fourth quarter that enabled New England to maintain the field-position advantage. You could argue he’s been slightly better than Rhamondre Stevenson through three games.

LB Anfernee Jennings
Impressive performance for a guy who was a healthy scratch the first two weeks. Jennings recorded tackles on the first two plays of the game, including one for a 6-yard loss, and finished the game with five. He also generated some of the pressure that led to Christian Barmore’s first-quarter sack. This was one of the best games of Jennings’ career.

TE Pharoah Brown
Only had two catches, but one of them was huge. Brown, who also played some fullback in this game, hauled in a 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the second quarter that gave New England an early cushion. It was his first touchdown since 2020 and the longest play of his career. He’s been exactly what you’d hope for from a third tight end.

Honorable mentions: Mac Jones, Matthew Judon, Keion White, Jabrill Peppers, Christian Gonzalez, Kyle Dugger, Kendrick Bourne

DUDS
The field goal operation
It’s hard to put much blame on rookie Chad Ryland for his two missed kicks, as both were from long distances (48 and 57). Plus, he made some big kicks in this game. But long snapper Joe Cardona delivered high snaps on both misses and punter Bryce Baringer could’ve done a better job as the holder. The entire operation was way too sloppy and cost the Patriots points.

LG Cole Strange
The second-year guard wasn’t awful, but he had some issues in both the running and passing games. Ultimately, it was his drive-killing holding penalty in the first half — after doing the same thing last week — that put him on the list. Strange likely still is working off the rust after missing so much time during the summer, but he has to be better. He left the game in the third quarter due to a knee injury, but it’s unclear if it was to the same knee that bothered him during training camp.

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
Another nondescript game for New England’s top offseason acquisition. Smith-Schuster caught just one ball for five yards and also got flagged for an illegal blindside block in the third quarter and fell down while running a deep route late in the fourth. He’s given the Patriots very little so far.

Honorable mentions: Bryce Baringer, run blocking