On Monday, the New York Jets took on the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium as a part of Kevin Mawae Night. The predictions were calling for a close game or even better, a Jets upset. However, this game was one of the worst losses in franchise history. They lost 33-0 and have been swept by the Patriots for the 4th straight season. That’s right….I will say it again…they did not score a single point at their own stadium!
The brutal night began on the opening drive when Brady got the ball and engineered a 9-minute rally resulting in an early 7-0 lead. The Jets defense allowed New England to convert on four third downs with the final one being a 3-yard touchdown run by Sony Michele. Now this was before Darnold and the offense even took the field.
Once the offense took the field, Darnold was under constant pressure by Patriots LB Jamie Collins. This would lead to CB Devin McCourty picking off Darnold’s first pass attempt which would generate an early 10-0 lead for the Patriots. Unfortunately, things would only continue to get worse for Darnold and the offense. He only completed 11 of 32 pass attempts for 86 yards, no touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. Darnold’s stats were worse than the Dolphins game on November 4, 2018, in which he also threw 4 interceptions. As a matter of fact, the atrocious, former third-string QB Luke Falk played better against the Patriots than Darnold did on Monday.
The saddest part about this game is that Darnold kept alluding that he was seeing “ghosts” on the field. This referred to his failure to locate pass rushers before making a throw. According to a report from SB Nation, three factors played into Darnold’s ability to see “ghosts.” First of all, the O-line did nothing to protect Darnold from the intimidating Patriots defense. Secondly, the report mentions that it may have been due to an unusual environment in regards to Monday Night Football. However, we all know what happened the last time Darnold played on Monday Night. He would go on to crush the Detroit Lions 48-17. Finally, seeing “ghosts” could be due to high levels of stress from playing the Patriots while still recovering from mono. Excuses…excuses…. a lot needs to be corrected going down the road.
The only positive from the game is that Le’Veon Bell rushed for a season-high 70 yards against a defense where it is usually impossible to run against. However, Bell’s solid play is nowhere near enough to pick up a win in the NFL. Next week, the Jets will travel down to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. They are quite capable of winning this game but only if they do not turn the ball over and commit penalties. Don’t worry Jets fans…everyone is entitled to one bad day, but it hurts even more against the Patriots.
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