By Alex MacDougall
BU News Service
If there’s any team in sports that this sportswriter takes delight in seeing lose, it’s the New York Jets. While the baseball rivalry of the Red Sox and Yankees is far more intense and historic, with the Yankees, there’s always a mutual acknowledgement that both teams are highly successful clubs and that the players will give it their all in any given matchup.
This isn’t the case with the Jets. Despite the Patriots being the far superior team statistically over the past 20 years, the Jets somehow haven’t gotten the message, and like to talk a big game before usually getting thoroughly embarrassed by their AFC rivals (a prime example being the infamous butt-fumble game).
But while the Patriots and Jets have a wide gap in their win loss record coming into this game (The Pats were 6-0, the Jets 1-4) the return for the Jets of linebacker C.J. Mosely and quarterback Sam Darnold led some commentators to believe that the Jets may pull of an upset against their AFC East rival. The Jets were just coming off a victory against the powerful Dallas Cowboys, and they were eager to show that they were ready to turn their fortunes around.
The Patriots started off well, with a nearly nine-minute drive that resulted in a touchdown run by running back Sony Michel. When the Jets tried to answer on offense, Sam Darnold’s comeback story was disrupted with an interception by Devin McCourty, his fifth on the season, which led to a Mike Nugent lead. Brady and the Pats ended the first quarter with a touchdown pass to Philip Dorsett.
In the second quarter, the Jets ended their second drive the same way they ended their first, with another turnover, this time following a Darnold fumble that was recovered by Kyle Van Noy. The Patriots again marched down the field, and despite an impressive goal line stand by the Jets defense, it again concluded with a Sony Michel touchdown run, giving the Patriots a 24-0 lead. This was followed up by a Jets drive that ended with…another turnover.
The difference in abilities was so apparent by halftime and I suspect the only reason most people were still watching the game was for the Star Wars trailer that debuted during the halftime break (which was pretty awesome, by the way. Good cross-promotion, Disney.)
The Jets continued to make blunders in the second half, with two more Darnold interceptions and a high snap the went out of the end zone resulting in a safety, which is only worth two points, but is worth much more in how it embarrasses the team that falls victim to it. Sony Michel would again score on a touchdown, making the final score 33-0 Patriots.
With their 7-0 record, the Patriots are just one of two undefeated teams left, the other being the San Francisco 49ers. It’s far too early to declare this team as one that can make a run at going undefeated, it’s also hard to see who exactly the Patriots will lose too. But they’ll likely have a much tougher matchup next week against the Baltimore Ravens.
