FOXBORO -- Consider the challenge met.
The Patriots were seven-point underdogs at home, going against a Jets team with star-level talent all over the field that was even more desperate than New England was for a victory.
Early in the second quarter, the Patriots lost starting quarterback Drake Maye, who also happens to look like their best player three games into his tenure as starter.
And yet, after being called "soft" by head coach Jerod Mayo a week earlier, the Patriots toughened up in critical moments, converting two third-and-longs and a fourth-and-inches on the goal line to emerge with a come-from-behind, 25-22 win.
"When your leader says something about you like that, you never want that to define you," Hunter Henry said. "These guys, I think, responded well. I think we all responded well to what was said last week, and we were able to go out there and get a win."
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Had they not responded -- and there's one position group we'll examine below that, for the vast majority of the game, did not -- then that would be cause for alarm. And perhaps cause for roster moves.
This is an assessment year for Mayo and personnel chief Eliot Wolf, after all, and if you lower your level after being called out rather than elevate it? Maybe that four-letter word that generated headlines all week was, in fact, apt.
Lucky for the Patriots, and for Mayo, the majority of them answered.
"I’m very proud of just the way the guys responded," Mayo said Monday morning.
Let's get to what we learned...
The Patriots ran the ball in key spots
The overall numbers aren't going to overwhelm anyone. Particularly when it comes to the work of Patriots running backs. But the rushing attack on Sunday had more life to it than what the team brought to the table a week earlier in London.
The Patriots ran for 111 yards on 31 carries, but six of those carries for 57 yards came from quarterbacks. That meant Rhamondre Stevenson (20 attempts) and Antonio Gibson (5) combined for just 54 yards. Not what you're looking for.
But Stevenson grinded his way to two scores. The first was a hard-charging finish from three yards away, where he lowered his shoulder into corner Jarrick Bernard-Converse. The second won the game, powering through the line of scrimmage despite two of his offensive linemen -- Mike Onwenu and Demontrey Jacobs -- missing blocks.
.@dreeday32 WITH 22 SECONDS LEFT 🤯
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 27, 2024
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/QTUC4h6w6p
"It means a lot," Mayo said later of the go-ahead score. "When you preach something and it shows up in the game, it’s always going to be more impactful.
"I would say there comes a point in time where everyone in the stadium knows you’ve got to run the ball. Whether if we’re on defense or if we’re on offense, there comes a point in time where they know, everyone knows, the fans know, it’s a run play. You’ve got to really just defeat the man across from you. Look, fortunately our guys got movement and we scored, so it was great."
The Patriots stopped the run in key spots
It's not asking much. But the Patriots stopping the bleeding they'd experienced for weeks on end when defending the run -- they allowed an average of 185 rush yards per game from Week 5 through Week 7 -- had to be a welcome sight for the entirety of the organization.
They allowed 4.0 yards per carry and 112 total on 28 carries against the Jets, including some key run stuffs that kept points off the board.
They hit a fullback lead run to stop it for no gain in the third quarter on second down. Then came an incompletion on third down and a punt. Then came Marcus Jones' 62-yard return to set the Patriots up for a short touchdown drive.
On the next Jets drive, the Patriots snuffed out two inside runs -- both no-gainers -- en route to forcing a chip-shot field goal. The Patriots defense also stuffed two inside runs for four yards total on a drive that eventually yielded a Greg Zuerlein missed field goal.
It wasn't rocket science. With some heavier fronts at times and stouter play at the linebacker level from Jahlani Tavai and Christian Elliss -- "Stop all the cute [expletive] and get back to basics," defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said -- the Patriots put together a decidedly tougher performance on that side of the ball.
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The Patriots executed on special teams in key spots
The Patriots have long defined toughness as running the ball, stopping the run and covering kicks. We're going to bend the rules a tad here to continue with the theme that the Patriots did, in fact, show some toughness on Sunday.
Xavier Gipson had a 40-yard return at one point and the Patriots saw one of Bryce Baringer's punts deflected, so it was far from a perfect day in that phase of the game.
But Jones' punt-return for 62 yards was a game-changer. And while his speed contributed significantly to the play being broken open, he needed some help from his teammates to find open space initially. JaMycal Hasty ended up with a key block -- which Jones pointed out after the game -- wiping out four players with a collision at the Patriots 22-yard line.
Marcus hit the edge and was OFF 🏎️@MarcusJonesocho | #NEPats
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 27, 2024
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/EDLAQCvlKD
“Yeah, it was one of those situations where Hasty had a great block, first off," Jones said. "All my guys were working their tails off all year, so that was pretty good, but I owned one for sure. I definitely should have scored, but I put that on myself."
Patriots receivers need to up their game
Maybe it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the Patriots weren't able to get their receivers to bounce back after Mayo's team-wide call-out. They've struggled this season, and it's no wonder the New England front-office made an aggressive pursuit of two big-money players at that spot earlier this year.
But the way in which Patriots wideouts struggled was eye-opening, because it's not all that often one position group is responsible for five drops in one game. That's what happened against the Jets -- with both Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett victimized -- as Kayshon Boutte (two drops), Kendrick Bourne (two) and Tyquan Thornton (one) coughed up footballs that should've been hauled in.
Three of the passes were on throws over the middle. Both of Boutte's drops -- one on a throw in front of him from Maye, one from Brissett that was placed on his back hip -- and one of Bourne's came in traffic between the numbers.
“Man, personally, I just have to play better," Bourne said. "I hated that game. I played so bad. I just have to look in the mirror, too. I've just got to make more plays. As a group, we have to focus in, play better. It's good to get a win, but there's a lot to improve on."
Boutte -- who made a key block on a Rhamondre Stevenson touchdown in the third quarter -- bounced back with a 34-yard grab that kept the Patriots alive on their go-ahead drive. He later snagged another Brissett pass on a slant that put the Patriots on the goal line with a chance to take the lead on fourth down.
Good sign. But still plenty for this unit to work on. And Mayo wasn't afraid to let that be known during his Monday morning back-and-forth with reporters.
“They need to get better,” Mayo said. “Those guys went out there and they were open at times. The job of a receiver is to get open and catch the ball. If you’re really good, run with it afterwards. They definitely have to get better and they understand that.”
Brissett earned his right to talk
Doing what Jacoby Brissett did isn't easy.
Came in cold. With his team down. And brought them back from three different deficits to win for the first time in seven weeks. It was, according to ESPN, the first time the Patriots came back from down four points with less than a minute left since 2017 (Week 3, Texans).
And Brissett wasn't a passenger. He scrambled for 14 yards on third-and-9 on the go-ahead drive. He took a shot to his legs and still had enough juice on the football to complete a 34-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte on third-and-10. He hit Boutte for a slant on third-and-goal and then hit Rhamondre Stevenson for an easy two-point conversion to bump New England's lead to three points.
.@JBrissett12 threading it to @KayshonBoutte1 🎯
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 27, 2024
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/oAgSg7YsTS
Asked if he felt Sunday was a redemption story of sorts for him, Brissett said no.
"I don’t look at it as no redemption," he explained. "I think this is a testament to me believing in myself and not y’all. I’m very aware of that. I was very fortunate to have this opportunity.
"To go out there and get a win with our guys, it was sweet. You can’t put it into words. I’m not trying to, like, be arrogant or nothing, but I’m very proud of myself today."
Deservedly so.
