One week after being called "soft" by their head coach, the New England Patriots let their play do the talking.
The Patriots earned a hard-fought 25-22 victory over the New York Jets in Sunday's Week 8 matchup. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson scored the game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds left to cap off an impressive Jacoby Brissett-led drive. Brissett replaced starting quarterback Drake Maye after the rookie exited in the second quarter with a concussion.
It was far from a perfect day for Jerod Mayo's group. New England's wide receivers tallied seven drops, but second-year wideout Kayshon Boutte stepped up when it mattered most with two huge plays to set up Stevenson's game-winner.
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Our Patriots insider Tom E. Curran came away encouraged by the team's resiliency in its first victory since Week 1.
"The jumping-off point was gonna be that the Jets won the game because they had a better quarterback and better wide receivers by a lot. The Patriots' wide receivers actively costing them the game," Curran said on Patriots Postgame Live. "But in the end, you see this team being resilient, which is something they have not been. And when you look overarching, what's the message?
"They got called soft last week. They didn't bow up completely against the run, but they bowed up enough in the trenches where it mattered offensively and defensively. They protected well enough. They survived the loss of really the only reason to show up at Gillette Stadium and watch on a nice sun-shiny Sunday in October -- that was Drake Maye -- and they still won the football game.
"So, really good resilience shown by this team. Still jaw-droppingly bad wide receiver play, which is amusing after the week they had, but they needed this and they needed this badly. Imagine being the Jets?"
🤭 Jets gonna Jet pic.twitter.com/pI8PWJfAv2
— Patriots Coverage on NBCS Boston (@NBCSPatriots) October 27, 2024
Former Pats linebacker Ted Johnson praised New England's defense for bouncing back from a woeful performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
"Look, the defense came out to play," he said. "I mean, the Jets felt like they were on a 50-yard field versus the Patriots on a 100-yard field, so the drive-start average was hugely in favor of the Jets.
"The Patriots defense answered the bell a little bit, getting criticized big time for being soft. The running game didn't seem to impact them that much and they were good in the red zone, at least in the second half. They forced a couple of field goals there in the second half, which was huge. And so, for one week, it won't be so dreary over there in Foxboro. It's just a big win."
The Patriots and Jets are now tied for last place in the AFC East with 2-6 records. New England will have a prime opportunity to earn its third win when it visits the 1-6 Tennessee Titans next Sunday.
Hear everything Curran and Johnson had to say about the Patriots' Week 8 win below or on YouTube:
