EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Coming off a Monday evening loss to Chicago, the Patriots have been a day behind the Jets after they started making ready for a recreation that had the potential to interrupt their season.
So, they labored time beyond regulation.
According to quarterback Mac Jones and working again Rhamondre Stevenson, Pats offensive gamers engaged in additional conferences and movie research final week earlier than scoring a 22-17 knockout of the Jets on Sunday. Stevenson mentioned the aim was to play quicker, which is exactly what the Patriots did over their go-ahead landing drive to start out the second half. The Pats went no-huddle for six performs and 62 yards and finally took management of a recreation that lifted them again to .500.
“Just being familiar with the plays we were gonna call, and just knowing our game plan for that day,” Stevenson mentioned of the conferences. “Making sure everyone knows their assignment and just could play fast. That was the whole thing: knowing what we’re calling, so we could play faster.”
While the Pats didn’t rating one other landing, they did arrange three area targets for kicker Nick Folk, together with the eventual game-winner. They additionally appeared to scale back the variety of miscommunications, which late within the second quarter would have led on to a pick-six have been it not for John Franklin-Meyers’ roughing the passer penalty. On the play, Jones threw instantly at Jets cornerback Michael Carter II as a result of his prime wideout, Jakobi Meyers, had learn the protection in another way than his quarterback and adjusted his route accordingly.
Earlier within the season, one other miscommunication between Jones and veteran receiver DeVante Parker led to an end-zone interception in opposition to the Ravens. But away from any grey space Sunday, the Patriots swung the sport.
“Just talking through some things and watching extra film together was obviously very beneficial,” Jones mentioned. “Getting more reps in our own time and talking through things, just whatever we had questions on … obviously that’s important. You want to be on the same page, and I feel like we made strides there.”
Before their no-huddle drive discovered the tip zone, it achieved a secondary function: sporting out the Jets’ go rush. New York tallied three sacks within the first quarter alone, however began to tire because the Patriots ran 40 first-half performs. That fatigue wasn’t misplaced on them.
“They were really tired,” mentioned Pats vast receiver Kendrick Bourne. “They subbed their D-linemen quite a bit to maintain them contemporary, to maintain them dashing, and you would discover they couldn’t’ get to the quarterback as steadily as they have been within the drives earlier than.
“So we were just keeping them in there, kind of trapping them in there, so they couldn’t sub out. And just seeing who was in better shape. We could’ve finished drives better, but it just made them more tired.”
After Rhamondre Stevenson ripped off a 35-yard run to start out the second half, the Patriots additionally employed a shorter passing recreation, one other tactic Jones mentioned was designed to neutralize the Jets’ rush. It appeared to swimsuit Jones, who nonetheless took three extra sacks and completed with a 79.9 passer score, however nonetheless felt inspired by his offense’s efficiency and the mid-week basis they’d laid to safe a win.
“I felt like we did extra things this week together as a team and as an offense that showed up on the field, and if we continue to do that, we’ll see better results,” Jones mentioned. “So the process is there, and I’m just super happy to be a part of this. And obviously we want to continue to grow here. One game’s not good enough, so we’ll be ready for next week.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com