The New York Jets began their second half of the season with a foundation building 17-14 victory over the New England Patriots. In the Gillette Stadium quagmire, the Jets out-hustled and out-muscled the Patriots throughout the afternoon and Eric Mangini not only registered a win over his former mentor Bill Belichick, but also his most impressive win as head coach.
“I was just really pleased with the complete team effort,” Mangini said. "It was going to take a good performance on offense, on defense, and on special teams. Everybody had to be together to beat an opponent like the Patriots on the road. I am just exrtemely proud of their effort."
This was no fluke as the Jets controlled the line of scrimmage against a team that had won the past seven meetings in the divisional series. It was Mangini’s club who proved to be more resourceful on offense and attacking on defense, repeatedly bringing the heat against an overmatched Pats front. The Jets scored 14 points off turnovers including a fantastic 22-yard touchdown reception by Jerricho Cotchery, which gave the Jets a 17-6 fourth quarter advantage and turned out to be the deciding score.
"I saw the ball up in the air and I knew it was up to me and the defensive back to go get the ball," Cotchery said. "Fortunately I was able to make the play."
"I just wanted to put the ball up there and let him try to make a play," said New York QB Chad Pennington of Cotchery. "They had a good job of covering our other routes and he was the one guy who was one-on-one. The guy was playing off coverage. But I just feel that if I can I get the ball to Laveranues, Jerricho and all these guys one-on-one, they'll win for me. It was just a great job by him."
The Cotchery score followed an Erik Coleman interception of Tom Brady. Coleman's pick set the Jets up at the New England 35 and they scored four plays later.
"I was covering Maroney and he checked out and released," Coleman said. "I was going to run to him, but when I looked up the ball was there. I kind of tipped it up, grabbed it and was able to make a play."
After the Patriots narrowed the gap to three with just 4:14 remaining, the Green & White didn’t come unglued. The Jets got three first downs before punting the ball with 1:08 remaining. With no timeouts available, Brady didn’t have enough time for any magic. The Pats moved to the Jets’ 46-yard line with nine seconds left and then Shaun Ellis put an exclamation on the win, forcing a Brady fumble as he came in alone for an unimpeded blow. The fumble was recovered by a Pats lineman who was immediately tackled and the Jets began an impromptu celebration at midfield.
Final Game Stats
The Jets took a 7-6 lead into intermission, buoyed by what was quite possibly their finest offensive possession of the season. After a takeaway by the New York defense, the Jets churned out a 16-play, 81-yard drive which took 9:12 off the clock before Kevan Barlow hammered home a touchdown from two yards out. Barlow was the leading Jets rusher Sunday, accounting for a season-high 75 yards on 17 attempts.
"The offensive line and the perimeter guys blocking did an excellent job," Barlow said. "They made my job a lot easier. I just went out there and tried to pick my holes and pick up some positive yardage."
The line got a good push throughout the possession and the 6’1”, 234-pound Barlow ran nine times for 42 yards. Barlow’s score was indicative of the strong play as both rookie center Nick Mangold and veteran guard Pete Kendall pushed defenders backwards before Barlow finished the run, slamming his helmet into Junior Seau’s chest before crossing the goal line.
“The traction really helped,” said veteran guard Pete Kendall of the muddy conditions. “It was a big, muddy slop-fest in there and it was hard for both sides to dig in and get any sort of traction.”
For the majority of the first quarter, the Jets were stout against the run. But veteran Patriots back Corey Dillon broke through the line late in the opening stanza and gained 50 yards on the torn up grass. The 50-yard gain by Dillon was the longest run in the successful Belichick era in New England. Despite the Dillon gain, the Jets made a couple of critical plays inside their 10-yard line including a 3rd down sack of Brady by veteran Kimo von Oelhoffen, forcing the Pats to settle for a 31-yard field goal from Steven Gostkowski.
The teams exchanged second quarter turnovers. Pennington badly overthrew Laveranues Coles over the middle and Artrell Hawkins was the recipient of the wayward pass. Looking to capitalize on the takeaway, Brady threw short to Doug Gabriel and the wideout made a good move to get by rookie corner Drew Coleman. Gabriel raced down the sideline but Coleman recovered and knocked the ball loose from behind. Safety Kerry Rhodes recovered for the Green & White, setting the offense up for the long drive.
Gostkowski made it a one-point game at the half, delivering from 21 yards out. The Patriots were fortunate to get the points because Coleman picked off a Brady pass just moments prior to the kick. The would-be second Jets’ takeaway was taken off the board though; linebacker Victor Hobson was penalized for unnecessary roughness after a hit on Brady. Hobson came in free on a blitz and got to Brady but officials flagged the backer, allowing the drive to stay alive.
New York widened its lead to four a second time when rookie kicker Mike Nugent connected from 34 yards. The Jets moved the ball 45 yards, but perhaps more importantly hung onto the ball for 15 more plays. What led to the field goal was a great play call by Mangini, having Pennington pooch-punt on a 4th and 1 play from the Pats’ 33-yard line. Pennington, not to be compared with Ray Guy, did a brilliant job and pinned New England back inside its five-yard line. The Pats eventually had to punt and the Jets began their drive at their own 40-yard line following a 15-yard punt return from Tim Dwight.
“It was a good call by Coach Mangini to do that, to try to pin them down in there and it worked out good for us,” Pennington said.
Brady tried to answer on the ensuing possession, but the Jets brought the heat inside their own territory. Back-to-back sacks by Bryan Thomas and then Dewayne Robertson kept the lead intact.
The Jets, who split the series with the Patriots, are now 5-4 and trail the Pats by just a game in the AFC East. Next weekend, the Jets go home for a date with the Chicago Bears.
Game Notes
In the visitors locker room, Jets defenders praised cooridnator Bob Sutton for a wonderful game plan. The bye week gave the coaching staff time to make adjustments. “I will tell you that this is one of the best game plans we had the whole year," said veteran defensive lineman Bobby Hamilton. "We have a lot of talent out there on defense; we just have to go out there and play together. I think he did a good job of getting the right guys out there in the right fit and called a good game against the New England Patriots.”.. The Jets didn’t let the rain affect their offensive plan. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer had Chad Pennington throw the ball on the team’s first six plays. One of those passes actually went down as a rush because Pennington threw backwards to Jerricho Cotchery for a three-yard gain. “We practiced on a similar field also," said Cotchery, who led the Jets with six receptions for 70 yards. "All of those situations that occurred today, we have been practicing.”… Kimo von Oelhoffen’s second quarter sack was his first with the Jets and 26.5 of his 13-year pro career… Justin McCareins, the Jets third receiver, caught three balls for 31 yards, including a 23-yard reception… Center Nick Mangold missed one play in the third quarter before returning to the game… The Patriots gained 377 yards and the Jets totaled 278 yards… The Jets were effective on third downs on both sides of the ball, converting six of 13 and holding the Pats to just three of 12...It was one of the most impressive regular season wins in recent memory for the Jets. They never blinked while handing the Pats their second consecutive loss - that's the first time New England has lost consecutive games since '02. Particulary impressive was the play by both of the lines as the Jets won at the line of scrimmage. “I cannot say enough about our offensive line,” Pennington said. “They just have been getting better and better each week. From the first game until now, they just keep making improvement. Kevan (Barlow) and Leon (Washington) provide a great 1-2 punch for us. They are doing a great job in the passing game as well in protection. They called some check-downs today that really got us some good yards.”
