In another week that was not what you would call a "pretty" win, the New England Patriots prevailed in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets.
Tom Brady was clearly hampered for the entirety of the game, but he put the team on his back and settled in for a signature game-winning drive that we have all become accustomed to. By finding his rookie wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who burned old buddy Darrelle Revis for two touchdowns, including the game-winner, the Patriots were able to escape New Jersey with a solid divisional win.
They came out flat and uninspired, but the Patriots played like a different team for most of the second half, and it propelled them to a victory.
Brady continues to be the greatest of all time, as he earned a milestone 200th career win that puts him in a tie with Peyton Manning that he will break likely next week.
The Patriots are still working out a lot of kinks, but they are starting to piece some nice football together at various times, and this is all setting them up for another postseason run at Brady and the franchise's fifth Super Bowl title.
There were some ridiculous calls on Twitter to put in Jimmy Garoppolo after the first quarter and a half because Brady was clearly playing at about 50 percent at best. With a lingering knee injury likely suffered in the closing seconds of last week's game against the San Francisco 49ers, Brady looks off the mark. Though the only thing that was ridiculous is doubting Brady.
On the final drive of the game, Brady used all the magic he had left for the day to plant his back foot and deliver some big-time throws, including the pass up the seam to Chris Hogan where Brady perfectly looked off the safety with his eyes. Brady also hit Mitchell on some huge throws throughout the game, including two touchdowns, and nearly connected for another on a fade in the back-right corner of the end zone.
It wasn't all perfect for Brady, as he finished the game 30-of-50 with 286 yards and two touchdowns. He was inaccurate on his deep passes and missed too many throws early on where he misfired with overthrows and wild passes. Luckily, none came back to haunt him.
Brady's game-winning drive in signature fashion makes up for many of his earlier issues, as they were likely all related to his injured knee.
Grade: B+
Once again, the Patriots have a trio of solid running backs.
Dion Lewis: He was shifty as can be, as most evident on an opening screen catch at the start of the game. Lewis had a few contributions in the passing game, and he also had a nice 15-yard run. He's back and will be worked into the offense more and more.
LeGarrette Blount: This clearly wasn't a great matchup for Blount, as the Jets boast one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. But the big RB delivered, with his biggest run setting up the time-eating kneels of the victory formation.
James White: He almost scored on the two-point conversion, and he probably should have gotten that ball across. That's something Bill Belichick will not be happy about, since the execution was good but White was moving too quickly and lost awareness to get the ball over the line. But let's praise White for his big 4th-and-4 conversion as he stretched and got exactly to the first-down marker earlier in the drive.
Grade: B
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