New England Patriots: Cam Newton and the great escape from New York

The New England Patriots escaped embarrassment with a 30-27 victory over the New York Jets Monday night at Metlife Stadium.

After fumbling away victory in the Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Cam Newton and the New England Patriots got a shot at redemption Monday night against the New York Jets.

In a game that nearly saw the Patriots lose to the winless Jets, Newton was able to lead his quad from a 10-point deficit to a narrow 3-point victory over a resurgent Joe Flacco who the Pats’ defense made look like that guy who led the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl victory.

Defensive troubles aside, the Patriots’ offense had some life in them.  They rushed the ball behind Damien Harris and Rex Burkhead on the ground and through the air, Cam Newton has seemingly found a connection with Jakobi Meyers as the second-year receiver snagged 16 receptions for 169 yards.

Most importantly though, it was Newton who was able to keep his poise, make the right decisions and finally get over the hump in leading his team from behind in a game they simply had to have.

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"“I’m getting tired of sucking.  Simple,” Newton said following the game, via NFL.com.  “As a competitor, you know what your standard is and taking pride in your work, that’s what it comes down to.  You not being able to hold your head up because you’re thinking too much, that’s one thing.  But, at the same time, you’re solely responsible for the performance that you put up and I was extremely disappointed.  I just did my job today, and that’s what it’s supposed to be each and every week.”"

Grading the performance of Cam Newton

In leading the New England Patriots to their first touchdown of the season in the first quarter of a game along with a couple clock-eating drives in the second half, Cam Newton orchestrated the blueprint of what this Patriots team needs to do to win ballgames.

There was nothing fancy, but it was a blue-collar performance by the offense.  Again, behind the downhill running of Damien Harris and Rex Burkhead, Cam Newton was able to pick his spots to throw the ball.

Throwing for 274 yards with no interceptions, Cam Newton was the Cam Newton the New England Patriots envisioned at the quarterback position at least for this season.  He did miss and Jakobi Meyers on a deep pass that would’ve went for a touchdown, but he stayed within the flow of the play-calling, limited mistakes and kept his own poise in completing the comeback.

Is this a breakthrough for the offense?

We said a glimpse in the second half of the Buffalo Bills game, but yes, it looks like the Patriots offense can do enough to score points to win games.  They still need to somehow get some tight end involvement in the passing game, but both Meyers and Damiere Byrd are growing as dependable receivers and as long as there is still the threat of Cam making plays with his feet, the Patriots still have a shot at turning this season around.

Let’s give Cam Newton a B+ for his performance Monday night in the New England Patriots victory over the New York Jets.