NFL Week 16 New York Jets Vs. New England Patriots Quick Hits

Dec 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan hugs New York Jets wide receiver

(16) before a game against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

In Rex Ryan’s likely final home game as Jets head coach, the Jets came up short and could not beat the Patriots. Despite terrific effort and a good game plan they could not execute down the stretch as they lost to the Patriots 17-16.

1) Jets play hard for Rex Ryan in final home game but they just don’t have enough talent – The Jets played well in the 1st half, especially on defense, and with good effort as a testament to their coach. The team had a good game plan on both sides of the ball and it resulted in a 10-7 halftime lead. The defense sacked Tom Brady four times and hit him eight times in the 1st half and Brady was seeing blitzers that weren’t there on the other plays.

Sheldon Richardson and Calvin Pace led the way as seven Jets had at least .5 sacks. In the second half the Patriots adjusted and the Jets were beaten by quick, short passes to Rob Gronkowski and Brandon LaFell that negated the Jets pass rush.

2) Geno Smith has a good 1st half but throws a key second half interception – Smith was 11/16 for 117 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Many of his passes were right on target and he was not afraid to throw at Darrelle Revis as he drew a penalty on one deep throw to Harvin and completed a 25 yard pass to Harvin with Revis on coverage. The final two Jets drives covered 139 yards on 22 plays and netted the Jets 10 points and the halftime lead.

In the 3rd quarter Smith led the Jets on a 10 play 66 yard drive that resulted in a field goal but then threw a key interception that led to the Patriots taking a 17-13 lead early in the 4th quarter. Smith also could not move the team after an interception with five minutes left gave the ball to the Jets in Patriots’ territory but a key 3rd down sack cost the Jets an opportunity to take the lead.

3) The offensive line protects Geno Smith – Geno Smith had plenty of time to throw all day and was sacked on two coverage sacks by Chandler Jones and Siliga. The Patriots were only credited with the two sacks and five quarterback hits as they could not consistently get to Smith despite blitzing him. However, their second sack resulted in a 10 yard loss that knocked the Jets out of field goal position and prevented the Jets from taking the lead with less than five minutes left.

4) Marcus Williams plays very well and records his 1st interception – Marcus Williams had seven tackles, three pass defenses and a huge interception with seven minutes to go in New England territory. Williams has been a good find for the team as an undrafted free agent and has more than held his own. He has proven himself capable to be part of the Jets secondary in 2015 but most likely in a supporting role.

5) Nick Mangold gets carted off with an ankle injury – Nick Mangold got rolled up by old foe Vince Wilfork (unintentionally) and unfortunately had to be carted off but Dalton Freeman more than held his own on the Jets three scoring drives although he was charged with a holding penalty.

6) Nick Folk has go-ahead field goal blocked – Folk’s 52 yard attempt to give the Jets the lead with less than five minutes left was blocked by Vince Wilfork. Wilfork got his hand on a low kick and was able to make sure the kick would fall short.