FOXBOROUGH -- The final nail in the Jets coffin was a blocked field goal.
The Jets fought and scratched and kept it close with their rivals Thursday night in Foxborough, but ultimately couldn't do enough, falling to the Patriots 27-25.
The comeback was on. Geno Smith led the Jets down the field on what could have been an improbable, game-winning drive if Nick Folk could make a career-long 58-yard field goal at the last second. Folk never really got the chance, as the kick was blocked by Chris Jones, cementing the Jets' sixth straight loss.
The Jets had a chance to tie the game just minutes earlier, but Geno Smith sailed a pass to Jace Amaro on the two-point conversion.
In a way, a lot went right for the Jets: they bowled over the New England defense with Chris Ivory powering his way to 107 yards and Smith using his legs. The Jets had the ball for over 40 minutes of the game. The Patriots were hurting themselves with penalties. And the Jets hung on to the ball, not surrendering a turnover.
But it wasn't enough. Because at the end of the day, the Patriots did what they have now done eight times in 12 tries against Rex Ryan: win.
If the Jets season wasn't over after losing to the Broncos on Sunday, it certainly is now.
Gang Green knew they had to face six prolific passers in a row. With New England behind them, they can look back at the stretch as the six-game losing streak that terminated the 2014 season early and likely signaled the end of Ryan's tenure with the team.
As if the Jets were not going to have enough trouble with the Patriots anyway, the defense ended up spotting New England seven points right from the jump. On the fourth play of scrimmage the Jets, playing in zone with their base defense, allowed Shane Vereen to run straight past the secondary, wide open for a 49-yard touchdown. It appeared that Antonio Allen, playing safety, was likely responsible for marking the running back running deep.
The Jets offense got off to a hot start, especially thanks to a sudden willingness to run by Smith, and actually included a touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerley that was wiped out by a holding penalty by fill-in left guard Oday Aboushi. Ultimately, the Jets settled for a 22-yard field goal after stalling at the four-yard line.
The defense corrected its previous error, suddenly proving stalwart enough to stop the Patriots offense. And after a couple more successful field goals by Nick Folk, the Jets led 9-7 with 7:52 left in the first half.
Not that the Patriots' drought would last for long. After two three-and-outs, Brady led his offense on a 10-play, 80-yard drive before hitting Vereen again, this time for a three-yard touchdown, to put the Patriots ahead 14-9 with 4:22 left in the second quarter.
Following yet another stalled drive for the Jets that turned into three points, the Patriots got the ball back with about a minute remaining. Yet again the Jets yielded points at the end of the half, surrendering a field goal after a costly pass interference against Allen put New England in the red zone. The Jets went into the locker room down 17-12.
The Jets were able to continue dominating the Patriots on the ground and Ivory, who hit the 100-yard marker on the Jets' first drive of the second half, led the way. When the Jets were a yard away from pay dirt Ivory, following a block by Sheldon Richardson playing full back, leapt into the end zone for a score to put the Jets ahead 19-17.
The Patriots added another field goal in the third quarter but the real dagger came with 7:49 left in the game, when Brady hit Danny Amendola on a 19-yard touchdown pass on third and goal with Allen in coverage.
Smith and the offense responded, leading the Jets on a 12-play, 86-yard drive and connecting with Jeff Cumberland on a 10-yard pass to bring the Jets within two, 27-25. After the failed two-point conversion and a failed onside kick attempt, the defense stopped the Patriots, giving the Jets one last hope, starting from their own 12-yard line with 1:06 left and no timeouts. Though Smith dinked and dunked the offense down field, Jones ended the Jets' hopes with his left hand.
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, October 16, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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