Watching the Jets-Colts game last week, there was one thing on my mind: Give me the Jets.
In the end, how could you blame me? It was only a month ago the Patriots put a beat down on New York 45-3 at Gillete Stadium. The Pats were rolling, winners of eight in a row and looking dominant while doing so. Meanwhile, the Jets hadn't impressed all year.
Everything was perfectly set. 8-0 at home. Winners of 31 of their last 32 under Brady at Gillette. Jets talking smack, giving the Pats all of the bulletin board material a team could ask for. It was something out of a fairytale for Patriots. And then it became a nightmare.
The first Jets drive was perfect for Patriots fans. 5 plays. One first down. Punt. Then, we saw the Pats do what they did so well all year: methodically dissect teams. Woodhead was dipping and dunking. Welker was catching passes over the middle. The Law Firm was breaking off 4-6 yard carries. The tight ends were involved. It was the best start New England could hope for.
Then Tom Brady showed his mortality. He threw a pick. And on top of it, it was returned to the New England redzone. Yet the Jets failed to hit the field goal and all was right with the world.
Next drive, same results. Methodical dissection all the way to New York's seven yardline. And yet again, another funny thing happened. Brady missed Crumpler on 2nd and 5 for a touchdown, and after failing to convert on 3rd down, the Pats settled for a field goal.
Moral of the story: Two drives, two dissections, 3 points.
Instead of jumping out on New York 14-0, the Pats were clinging to a 3-0 lead. It's tough to a say a game is won or lost in the first 10 minutes, but these results of Patriot drives may just be what ended it.
Looking back, it's real easy to figure out what landed the Patriots a loss. On every scoring drive for New York, there's one play that stands out:
1st drive: Sanchez completes pass to Braylon Edwards on 3rd down to put Jets in New England redzone
2nd drive: Patriots fumble the snap on the fake punt, giving the Jets perfect field position for a 2nd TD and 14-3 lead
3rd drive: Jericho Cotchery runs after the catch for 58 yards, sucking the life out of Gillette and taking momentum away from the Pats
4th drive: After attempting the onside kick, the Pats were unable to at least down the Jets around the 50 for one last ditch TD effort; instead Cromartie runs back the onside kick deep into New England territory
In the end, it wasn't the playcalling that defeated New England. It wasn't the first mediocre game Brady's had since Cleveland. It was the Patriots for the first time since Cleveland showing they are in fact mortal. They do make mistakes and although they only turned the ball over once, they didn't generate any either. And every time the Jets punched in 6, there's one moment that everyone can look at and say that's what changed the drive.
The Jets didn't look as impressive as many figured they would need to be to beat New England. But, they were good enough to beat a New England team that looked slightly better than they did on November 7 in Cleveland.
Overall, the Patriots had a great year. Going into the season, no one knew what to expect and many would say that 14-2 was a stretch. This team made it a reality. But, being so spoiled in years past, it is easy to wonder what if. If only there was a fairytale ending.
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