No Gronk, no worries
Pats roll without star TE
So much for the Patriots missing Rob Gronkowski. Minus its Pro Bowl tight end, New England could “only” muster a 4919 humiliation of the Jets last night at MetLife Stadium that showed the Patriots probably won’t miss a beat — at least on offense — while Gronkowski sits for a month or more with a broken arm.
Tom Brady certainly didn’t look like a quarterback playing without his favorite target, completing 18 of his 28 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns without an interception as the 83 Patriots rolled up 475 yards overall and continued to pile up points at an astonishing pace.
After scoring 59 at home against the Colts just four days earlier, New England nearly matched that total last night. The Patriots have scored 190 points in their past four games combined — nine more than the franchise did during the entire 1990 season.
“It’s just everybody stepping up, doing their jobs and doing it the way they’re supposed to and just trying to contribute any way they can,” said Wes Welker, who led New England with seven catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. “A lot of guys stepped up tonight and made a lot of big plays, and that’s what we need.”
The Patriots welcomed back fellow tight end Aaron Hernandez from a troublesome ankle, but Hernandez wasn’t nearly the factor running backs Shane Vereen and Steven Ridley and receiver Julian Edelman were in helping hand the Jets a humiliating loss.
Vereen turned in the most electrifying moment of the night, taking a swing pass from Brady early in the second quarter and blazing his way down the left sideline 83 yards for a score that gave the Patriots a 140 lead.
Vereen’s highlightreel play turned out to be the first domino to fall in a second quarter that was as memorable for the Patriots as it was nightmarish for the bumbling Jets. A defensive turnover and a specialteams turnover followed, and New England had a 280 lead just 52 seconds later.
“I’ve never seen that before, personally,” Vereen said of what would turn into a 35point Patriots second quarter. “But that’s what happens when you play hard.”
Edelman, who left the game with a concussion in the second half, was another big reason for New England’s eruption, providing their final two scores of the half. The first came when he picked up a fumbled Joe McKnight kickoff return and ran it back 22 yards, and the capper came on a 56yard touchdown grab five minutes later.
Brady and the Patriots didn’t take their foot off the pedal in the second half, either, and used their frenetic nohuddle to fluster the Jets throughout. New England finished an impressive 11for15 on third downs while handing Bill Belichick his 200th career coaching victory.
“There’s no coach I’d ever want to play for than him,” Brady said.