Analysis: Patriots Squeak Past Jets, 27-25

Oct 16, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver

(80) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets with running back

(34) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots held on with a blocked field-goal attempt to defeat the division-rival New York Jets 27-25 on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.

In what was your typical AFC-East battle between these two clubs, the Patriots came out on top thanks to their special teams blocking a 58-yard Nick Folk kick that would have given the Jets a much-needed victory. In all fairness to Folk, the ball has to be kicked low for him to get it all the way, so it wasn’t too shocking that his attempt was blocked.

But the game had several different layers to it right from kickoff. The Pats looked like they were going to toy with New York on offense after Tom Brady hit Shane Vereen for a 49-yard score in about 90 seconds of play. Then it was Geno Smith‘s turn and he looked more composed than expected, leading New York to three drives that resulted in field goals while New England’s play calling looked suspect and allowed the Jets to hang on to an early lead.

New England started the game looking to use the short pass as their running game, but diverted from that tactic in its next few drives. They managed to get  their second score when they went back to that strategy as Brady hit Vereen again for a short touchdown pass. Vereen ate up the safeties and linebackers out of the backfield and with Stevan Ridley done for the year, he may be relied on more in the short passing game.

After some trading of field goals, the Jets, who ran for 218 yards, had a long, impressive drive that ended with a Chris Ivory one-yard score. Ivory was his beastly self, running for 107 yards and looking like a chore to tackle. But Brady wasn’t finished for the evening, as he led New England to the eventual game-winning score, a 19-yard pass to none other than Danny Amendola!

Amendola also came up big on special teams, recovering the Jets onside kick after a late touchdown pass by Smith. The Jets got the ball back and ended up having that long change to win the game, but the Pats were able to keep the score in their favor.

Brady finished the night 20-for-37 for 261 yards and three scores, while Vereen had 11 carries for 43 yards and five catches for 71 yards and two scores.

New England now sits at 5-2 atop the division, and can really put the clamps on the lead with a win next week, when they host the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium with a kick-off time of 1:05 p.m. EST.