Winners, losers as Jets cruise past Patriots 24-3 on Thursday Night Football originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Aaron Rodgers and the Jets barely had to break a sweat as they cruised past the Patriots to start Week 3.
New York, at home, topped its divisional foes 24-3 on Thursday Night Football as New England offered little creativity on offense and couldn’t slow Rodgers and Co. on defense.
The result moved New York to 2-1, its second straight win of the young season. New England, however, fell to 1-2, its second consecutive loss.
Let’s analyze the result further with five winners and losers:
Winner: Aaron Rodgers, Jets
It was vintage Rodgers in his first home game since tearing his Achilles in last season’s opener. Rodgers completed a solid 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards, two touchdowns and no picks, showing off his quick releases and short scramble successes.
The obvious caveat is that Rodgers should’ve performed well against a Patriots unit that isn’t elite, but it’s a good sign for the Jets moving forward as their star quarterback continues to gain form. Tyler Conklin led the receiving department with five catches for 93 yards, while Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard caught the two touchdowns.
Loser: Patriots offense
On the opposite side, New England’s offense just couldn’t generate anything. Jacoby Brissett was held to 98 passing yards, no touchdowns and no picks on 12 of 18 completions, while running back Rhamondre Stevenson mustered just 23 yards on six attempts.
The Patriots as a whole recorded 139 yards, with rookie Drake Maye getting late reps that helped increase the numbers a tad. New York, for comparison’s sake, put up 400.
Winner: Will McDonald IV, Jets
McDonald IV, New York’s 15th overall pick in 2023, could be on the path to a breakout year. After recording a total of three sacks in 15 games last season, McDonald IV has already surpassed that total through three weeks.
The Iowa State product entered the game with three sacks through two appearances, then added another 1.5 on Brissett, who took a total of five sacks on the night. McDonald IV performing the way he is brings a new element to Robert Saleh’s defensive unit that’ll be needed for the bigger games.
Loser: Third-down disparities
New England’s offense, as aforementioned, failed to pick up yards consistently throughout the night. That was expected given the talent disparity between its offense and the Jets’ defense, though it didn’t help that the Patriots went 2-for-11 on third downs. With Brissett under center, they only picked up one first down in such positions.
Now the Patriots did go 3-for-3 on fourth downs, but that did little to alter the scoreboard. On the other hand, New York went 10-for-15 on third downs and should’ve put up more points with more ruthlessness. A missed Greg Zuerlein field goal also transpired.
Winner: Braelon Allen, Jets
Allen in Week 2 became the NFL’s youngest touchdown scorer from scrimmage, logging two. Though the 20-year-old rookie didn’t get inside the end zone in this game, he showed more promise of being a potential RB1 in the future.
Allen rushed for 55 yards on 11 carries, good for an average of five yards a run. Breece Hall added 54 yards on 16 carries with a goal line score, good for an average of 3.4 a run. The more running backs perform, the better for Rodgers’ pass-run balance, and Allen is proving he can be relied upon despite his inexperience.
