New England Patriots
I’m still not sure how the Patriots coaching staff — and Maye himself — made the necessary repairs so fast, but his bizarre early-season woes can officially be declared old news.
Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game …
It might get lost in the barrage of story lines coming out of the 26-19 win over the Jets.
But it should be noted that quarterback Drake Maye was a pillar of stability on a day when 60 percent of the starting offensive line didn’t finish the game and 70 percent of A.J. Brown’s targets did not result in a catch.
I’m still not sure how the Patriots coaching staff — and Maye himself — made the necessary repairs so fast, but his bizarre early-season woes can officially be declared old news. Maye was 18 of 32 for 235 yards, with three touchdowns and no turnovers on Sunday.
It wasn’t spectacular, but the degree of difficulty was higher because of the chaos around him, and he stood in and delivered exactly what was needed.
Maye did force it to Brown on a couple of occasions — understandable given the receiver’s ability and stature — and he did have a Favre-ian flip of the football in the second quarter that was awfully close to being a fumble.
But over the last three games — all Patriots wins — he’s thrown 10 touchdown passes with just one interception. He’s both settled down and leveled up, and it’s fair to declare that the first concerning three weeks were the outlier, and not his near-MVP performance last season.
Drake Maye is all the way back. Phew.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review …
THREE PLAYERS WHO WERE WORTH WATCHING
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Christian Gonzalez, David Bailey, Rhamondre Stevenson.
A.J. Brown: Well, he was worth watching in the sense of, “Hey, A.J. Brown is back from his high ankle sprain. Let’s see how he looks!” But the actual performance? I can’t imagine he’s had a worse game among the 120 he has played in his NFL career (playoffs included). Maye clearly had designs on getting Brown rapidly reacclimated after missing the previous four games, targeting him a team-high 10 times. But Brown, who was stunningly rusty, caught just three of those passes, for a total of 27 yards, with three official drops. Early in the second quarter, Brown got open down the right sideline for what almost certainly would have been a 61-yard touchdown reception, but the football somehow eluded his hands. His most egregious drops came on back-to-back throws on third and 5 and fourth and 5 on the opening possession of the second half. A Jets onside kick also ricocheted off his hands, but Eli Raridon was there for the rebound. Brown was back on the field Sunday, but somehow his hands stayed behind on injured reserve.
Omar Cooper Jr.: Speaking of high-profile Patriots returning from injuries, cornerback Christian Gonzalez was back after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury, and he was his usual receiver-stifling self. Gonzalez played the lead role in limiting Jets standout Garrett Wilson to four catches for 44 yards. But the Patriots defensive backs had trouble that perhaps they didn’t anticipate with another Jets receiver. Cooper, a late first-round pick in this year’s draft, missed the last four weeks with a high ankle sprain — yep, just like Brown. But the rookie showed no rust, torching Patriots safety Craig Woodson for a 48-yard touchdown reception on the Jets’ first series of the third quarter. Cooper finished with six catches on seven targets for 103 yards and the TD.
Corey Kiner: A backup running back acquired at the end of August from the Cardinals, Kiner had 20 carries for 81 yards in total this season coming into this one, and that modest workload includes a fumble on his first carry against the Raiders. Yet there he was, with the Patriots holding a 23-16 lead midway through the fourth quarter, getting the ball on eight straight plays. He picked up a hard-fought 42 yards on those carries, taking the Patriots from the Jets 48 with 5:49 left in the game to the Jets 6 at the two-minute warning. Overall, he finished with 11 carries for 57 yards, while a gaggle of Patriots reporters simultaneously declared him “Clock-Killin’ Corey Kiner,” in reference to the great Corey Dillon’s nickname. As nice as the homage is, it seems here that such a nickname has to rhyme. “Clock-Grinder Corey Kiner” or something? Yeah, we’d better workshop it.
GRIEVANCE OF THE GAME
The grievance simply has to be the mounting injuries. Three of the five starting linemen — Morgan Moses, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Ben Brown — didn’t finish the game, and Romeo Doubs was sidelined for the day on his first-quarter touchdown catch. While the Patriots have proven deeper than Mike Vrabel seemed to believe in preseason, at some point the attrition can no longer be overcome. It sure isn’t ideal with a game Thursday night against the talented Bears in Chicago.
THREE NOTES SCRIBBLED IN THE MARGINS
Predicted final score: Patriots 31, Jets 15.
Final score: Patriots 26, Jets 19.
I know, I know, the defense deserves more of a salute than they’ve received in this space so far. It would have been a different game had the Jets not been halted twice in the first half on fourth downs, including one where linebacker Robert Spillane stood up powerful Jets running back Braelon Allen for a 1-yard gain on fourth and 2 at the Patriots 30 on the second play of the second quarter … In his 33rd career NFL game, Charles Woods snagged his first career interception, catching an off-target bad idea of a throw by Smith in the fourth quarter. The interception was Smith’s first of the season, meaning that it was his first as a Jet since Week 6 of the 2016 season, when Tyrann Mathieu picked him off late in a 28-3 loss to the Cardinals … I liked CBS’s aerial replay of Maye’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Doubs in the first quarter. Maye could have filmed another L.L. Bean ad during all the time he had to throw.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
