Turnovers kill New York Jets as Gang Green gets blown out by New England Patriots 41-3 in NFL Week 16
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The Jets lost to the New England Patriots 41-3 in Week 16. New York drops to 4-11 in the AFC East. How did Gang Green lose at Gillette Stadium?
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| Source: stats.nj.com/fb/boxscore.asp?gamecode=20161224017 | |
Interception.
Fumble.
Turnover.
Mistake after mistake piled up as the New York Jets could not hold onto the football. Where did it all begin?
In the middle of the 1st quarter, Jets QB Bryce Petty threw a pass on 3rd down to rookie receiver Robby Anderson, which was disrupted by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, who tipped the batted ball to himself. Minutes later, Tom Brady threw a touchdown to tight end Martellus Bennett from the Jets 5 yard line to put New England up 10-0.
Beginning in the 2nd quarter, instead of giving the football to running back Bilal Powell on 1st down, Jets head coach Todd Bowles chose to hand it off to Khiry Robinson, who had never carried the ball during the 2016 season up to that point. Tackled by linebacker Elandon Roberts at the line of scrimmage, Robinson fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Butler. Converting the turnover into a Stephen Gostkowski 22 yard field goal put the Patriots up 13-0.
With 4:53 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, Ryan Fitzpatrick (who had taken over for an injured Petty) underthrew Brandon Marshall on 1st down, which was caught by cornerback Eric Rowe at midfield. Soon Brady threw an 18 yard TD to Matt Lengel to give NE a 20-0 lead.
Late in the 3rd quarter on 1st down, Quincy Enunwa tipped a pass at the 50 yard line, which was intercepted by Butler. On the next Patriots possession, running back LeGarrette Blount scored from the Jets 1 yard line, putting the score at 41-0. Nick Folk added a field goal late to prevent a shutout.
The New York Jets shot themselves in the foot and gave New England a short field to score with each turnover. Against Brady and Bill Belichick, every possession is critical and Gang Green just squandered every opportunity away. Had the Jets held onto the football, the Patriots would have had a harder time to cross New York’s endzone. Mistakes allowed the Pats to turn this rivalry into a blowout.
