Three things that stood out in Patriots victory over the New York Jets
Written by Karver Jordan
The New England Patriots have won their first game of the 2023 season vs the New York Jets, New England has won 15 straight games vs the Jets. New England moves to (1-2) after the 15-10 victory. Here are three things that stood out to Karver Jordan after the win.
Defense comes up big stopping Jets Zach Wilson
This New England defense may have not forced any turnovers vs the Jets but they did stop the Jets on critical downs. Christian Gonzalez, the first round rookie did his job in stopping star wide receiver Garrett Wilson. New England was thin at corner in their week three matchup vs New York, but Gonzalez made sure the Jets couldn’t hit their best playmaker on offense. This Bill Belichick defense has performed outstanding vs some really good offenses, they will be facing the Dallas Cowboys in week four.
Ezekiel Elliott and Rhamondre Stevenson both have good games
The run game has been struggling these past few games but both Patriot running backs played solid football on the ground. Ezekiel Elliott had his best performance as a member of New England, 16 carries for 80 yards with an average of five yards per carry – Solid numbers from the veteran back. You love to see it! Elliott is finally getting used more in this system; Rhamondre Stevenson would also have a solid game. The young Running back would have 19 carries for 59 yards with an average of around three yards per carry, Good not Great type of numbers. No Offensive line push truly hurt the Patriots run game, both running backs created their fair share of plays due to their play ability. Ezekiel Elliott will look to seek his revenge vs the Dallas Cowboys in week four.
Patriots weapons struggle to get open
Bill O’Briens new offense has struggled to get open so far this season, very few players have recorded separation. DeMario “Pop” Douglas, Mike Gesicki, Hunter Henry, and Kendrick Bourne have all created separation at some points this season, realize how I said “Some Points”? We need to get open as much as possible, the RPO offense was working great but O’Brien has seemed to move away from that. Getting separation in the NFL is not easy however, we need to get open more to make it easier on Mac Jones.
The third year QB, Mac Jones played a solid game vs New York. Jones completed 15 of his 29 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots QB finished the day with a QBR of 92.1 and a completion percentage of 51.7%. New England will need MUCH better numbers vs the Cowboys, but the numbers recorded were not bad.
DeMario “Pop” Douglas and Kendrick Bourne created some good separation vs the Jets secondary. Pop Douglas recorded a reception for 15 yards and Kendrick Bourne recorded four receptions for 46 yards. Both wide outs played well.
Pharaoh Brown the veteran tight end recorded two receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown – (The Touchdown came off a Jets busted coverage) I do like how the Patriots are using Pharaoh Brown both as a blocker and a pass catcher. A name to watch for.
Karver’s Final thoughts:
I thought this Patriots team played solid in the first half offense and defense showed improvement until the second half. The game would’ve been higher scoring if New England didn’t miss two field goals. New England has a tough game ahead vs the Dallas Cowboys but they should win this game.
More about the writer:
My name is Karver Jordan, I’m a high schooler who is writing in New England. I enjoy sharing my sports knowledge with everyone. My goal is to help get the fans to get a better understanding of Teams, Players, and more. If you enjoyed this piece of writing check me out on Instagram and Twitter!
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