Last night we saw the New York Jets win handily over their division rival the New England Patriots. The Jets took the lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back. Their dominant performance can be attributed to their front seven dominating the Patriots offensive line and Aaron Rodgers sharp performance. Rodgers play last night suggests that he still has plenty of good football left in him and could lead the Jets to their 1st playoff appearance in 13 years. Let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from last nights game.
Winners
Jets QB Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers welcome back; NFL fans missed you. Last night was the first night that Rodgers looked like himself finishing with 27/35 with 281 passing yards and 2 touchdowns with a 127.5 passer rating. He looked mobile and displayed his elite arm against a solid defense. Rodgers looked fully healthy last night and that is a scary site for every AFC team as the Jets gear up for a postseason push.
Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett
Hackett has been the most criticized coach in the NFL over the last few years, deservingly so, but last night he called a stellar game. Last night Hackett got 8 different receivers involved last while mixing in 33 carries as well. That game-plan showed that there is more to this offense than RB Breece Hall and WR Garrett Wilson. The progress from this unit from week 1 to week 3 has been noticeable and they should continue to improve as the season progresses.
Jets TE Tyler Conklin
The 7 year veteran had a big night recording 5 catches for 93 yards on 6 targets. Conklin’s routes look sharp all night and worked the middle of the field well against the Patriots Cover 2 looks. Conklin looks like the clear TE1 on the Jets and could be an interesting fantasy pickup after his performance.
Jets Pass Rush
There were concerns with the Jets pass rush coming into the game with Jermaine Johnson’s injury, Bryce Huff’s departure, and Hanson reddicks holdout. Instead the Jets defense line answered those concerns by living in the Patriots backfield all night. The pass rush was led by 2nd year DE Will McDonald IV who had 2 sacks and now has 5 on the season.
Losers
Patriots Offensive Line
The Patriots offensive line made headlines for the wrong reasons in the loss. The offensive line struggled with the Jets front seven all night. QB Jacob Brissett had no time to throw and the Patriots never got the running game going. Personally I don’t think the Patriots should put Drake Maye behind this offensive line, we saw what happened with Bryce Young in Carolina. Below are the Patriots lineman grades from last night according to PFF
LG Zach Thomas 65.8
LG Michael Jordan 59.8
RT Mike Onwenu 82.3
RG Layden Robinson 38.9
LT Caedan Wallace 50.6
C David Andews 44.2
The Patriots need to invest in the offensive line through the draft and free agency next offseason.
Jets WR Garrett Wilson
Garrett Wilson’s night was saved by a touchdown midway through the 3rd quarter. Except for that elite route, Wilson and Rodgers were not on the same page. There were a few instances where Rodgers could not hit Wilson on a route that seemed open, or Wilson ran the wrong route. These chemistry problems have lasted three weeks now while we have seen players like Allen Lazard and Tyler Conklin have big games. I am not too worried long term about Wilson but the first three weeks for him have been uninspiring.
Patriots OC Alex Van Pelt
Van Pelt has done a great job the last two weeks as the Patriots OC is playing into their strengths by running the football and controlling the clock. Before the game’s final drive, the Patriots had under 10 rushing attempts as a team while relying on their passing game too often. As I previously mentioned their offensive line had no chance in the passing game, so it was confusing to see Van Pelt abandon the run and not have more quick pass designs.
Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett
Brissett might be the sacrificial lamb for the Patriots at this point. The Jets defense had 5 sacks and had plenty more hits on Brissett last night that no QB should have to endure. There is no reason to throw rookie QB Drake Maye into the fire just yet behind this offensive line. Brissett did not play horrible by any means last night but any time you get it that much as a QB it is never a fun game.