Patriots blitz Jets, improve to 7-0
New England’s ‘D’ snags five turnovers
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tom Brady set the tone and the New England Patriots’ blitz-happy defense took over from there.
Bill Belichick’s bunch is still undefeated after another absolutely dominant performance.
Brady threw a TD pass to Phillip Dorsett, Sony Michel ran for three scores and New England forced Sam Darnold into five turnovers while cruising to a 33-0 victory over the New York Jets on Monday night.
“We were able to make some plays early in the game,” Belichick said, “and play pretty solid for 60 minutes.”
The Patriots improved to 7-0 for the third time in franchise history, and first since 2015. They also swept the two-game season series against their AFC East rivals for the fourth straight year, outscoring the Jets (1-5) 63-14 in the two meetings this year.
And, the top-ranked Patriots defense was a big reason in this one.
Darnold was the AFC offensive player of the week after leading New York to a 24-22 win over Dallas last Sunday in his return from missing three games with mononucleosis.
He was miserable against New England, finishing 11 of 32 for 86 yards and a 3.6 quarterback rating. ESPN had Darnold wear a microphone during the game, and he was caught on the sideline saying, “I’m seeing ghosts” at one point.
Belichick blitzed Darnold often, giving the second-year quarterback little time and forcing him into bad — and often ugly — throws. Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Stephon Gilmore and Terrence Brooks all had interceptions. Darnold also lost a fumble on a sack, and later knocked an errant snap out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
“Obviously, that was brutal,” Jets coach Adam Gase said. “We couldn’t do anything right. All
three phases, we were bad. It was just a bad performance.”
Brady was 31 of 45 for 249 yards with a TD and an interception before leaving with 2:55 left to chants of “Brady! Brady!” from the Patriots fans who stayed until the end at MetLife Stadium.
They watched New England take total control from the beginning.
Michel’s 3-yard touchdown run capped an efficient drive by Brady to open the game. The Patriots went 16 plays and 78 yards while eating up 8:47, and converted four third downs along the way. The last came on third-and-2 when Brady pitched it to Michel, who easily zipped into the end zone.
“Our guys were ready to go today,” Belichick said. “We got off to a good start. That was a great opening drive. It took up most of the first quarter.”
New England made it 10-0 a few minutes later after McCourty intercepted Darnold’s first pass of the game, coming on the Jets’ second play from scrimmage. New England turned the turnover into a 34-yard field goal by Mike Nugent.
After the Jets went threeand-out, Brady went back to work. On fourth-and-6 from the 35, Belichick opted to leave the offense on the field instead of having Nugent try for a 53-yard field goal. And, it paid off. Brady connected with Ben Watson for 7 yards to extend the drive. After a 2-yard run by Michel, Brady threw a perfectly placed ball to Dorsett, who caught the pass over Trumaine Johnson in the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown.