3 Patriots Who Saved Their Jobs in Week 3 Win Over Jets

There was an unusual amount of pressure for the New England Patriots to beat the New York Jets in Week 3.

With the Patriots off to their first 0-2 start since 2001, New England desperately needed a win against its division rival. In light of the Patriots’ recent dominance over the Jets, falling to 0-3 with another loss would have been unacceptable.

Fortunately, New England pulled out a gritty 15-10 victory against New York, although we had plenty of help from Zach Wilson. Still, this game couldn’t have come at a better time, and it probably saved some people’s jobs in the process.

Here are three Patriots who saved their jobs with Sunday’s win over the Jets.

3 Patriots Who Saved Jobs in Week 3

1. Bill Belichick

Following New England’s 0-2 start, many (myself included) were quick to point fingers at Belichick.

Yes, the six Super Bowl titles were awesome, but sports is a “what have you done for me lately?” business, and Belichick hasn’t done a whole lot. The Patriots haven’t won a playoff game in over four years and have a losing record dating back to late 2019. Patience is growing thin in New England, and there’s a sense that for the first time in decades, Belichick is coaching for his job this year.

While losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins were understandable (but still frustrating), a loss to the woeful Jets would have been major cause for alarm. Belichick has always dominated New York and hasn’t lost to the franchise since 2015. If you can’t figure out how to beat Wilson, who can you beat? Robert Kraft might have fired Bill on the spot if New England had lost.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Belichick topped the Jets again, extending the Patriots’ winning streak against them to 15 games. New England is in the win column and suddenly has a bit of hope heading into a tough road matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Belichick is still on thin ice, but his job is saved (for now).

2. Ezekiel Elliott

Speaking of Patriots on thin ice, Elliott appeared to be on the verge of falling through after Week 2.

A late signing by New England in August, Zeke was clearly a consolation prize after the team missed out on DeAndre Hopkins. Nobody expected Elliott to dominate, but he was expected to be a quality RB2 behind Rhamondre Stevenson and fill the void in the backfield left by Damien Harris.

He didn’t come close to doing either of those things in the first two weeks of the season, rushing just 12 times for 42 yards and no touchdowns. He also lost a fumble in Week 1 and didn’t receive a single target in Week 2, looking out of sorts in the offense. Patriots fans were starting to fear that he was washed up and were ready to declare him a major bust.

Fortunately, Elliott put some of those fears to rest in Week 3. With New England relying on the ground game to move the ball in the crummy weather, Elliott stepped up and took 16 carries for 80 yards, out-rushing Stevenson for the second time this season. He also brought in his lone target for 7 yards.

Overall, he looked like the Elliott of old (for one week, at least). Playing on fresh legs and with no shortage of motivation, it was one of those games where his performance was more impressive to watch than the stats suggest too.

Zeke should be motivated to put up another strong showing this week against his old team in Dallas, so things are finally looking up for Elliott in New England.

3. Pharaoh Brown

Many Patriots fans didn’t know who Pharaoh Brown was before Week 3, much less that he played for their team. That’s because he’d been mostly invisible during the first two weeks after getting signed off the practice squad, playing just 14 total offensive snaps and making a few cameos on special teams as well. He didn’t receive a single target, either, making him a distant TE3 on the depth chart behind Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.

That changed in Week 3, however. Mac Jones finally looked his way, and good things happened. Brown hauled in both of his targets for a game-high 71 receiving yards. He also scored New England’s lone touchdown of the day, finding the end zone on a 58-yard bomb from Jones in the second quarter.

Brown played 25 offensive snaps in Week 3 — nearly double his total from the first two games combined. He made the most of it with his highlight-reel play, likely guaranteeing himself a bigger role in Week 4 and going forward.

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