By hook or by crook the Patriots are back in the win column. Here in the UK it was 04:30 when the game ended, does anyone have coffee? Here are the ups and downs from Week 9.
Ups ⬆️
Jakobi Meyers
Wow. What a night for the birthday boy! Meyers recorded 12 catches for a career-high 169 yards last night. It’s great to see him taking this opportunity to show that he can be a contributor for this team moving forward. His best game as a Patriot and the best player on the field.
Nick Folk
Now I’ll admit, I was quite critical of Folk after the first couple of weeks, but he’s turned out to be one of the most consistent players on the offense. A doubt going into the game with a back injury, Folk was a perfect 3/3 on field goals and 3/3 on extra points. His third and final field goal was a 51-yarder and the game-winner, a brilliant moment for him.
Cam Newton
I was happy for Cam, he’s had a rough couple of months for the team, but he showed a lot of heart last night and made some good plays. Now, I don’t think he’ll be here next season, but I’d be happy for him to continue showing improvement that could help land him another role for a different team next season. He wasn’t electric, but he was certainly better.
Rex Burkhead
Rexy B was solid again last night. He ran hard and secured the team some vital first downs. He’s really kept the backs room stable whilst other veterans have been absent in recent weeks, he’s certainly one of the major playmakers this team has right now. 56 yards on the ground along with a touchdown doesn’t do Burkhead justice for how well he supported the team last night.
Downs ⬇️
J.C. Jackson
Not a great evening in New Jersey for Jackson. I’ll credit him with the late fourth-quarter pick that made it his fourth straight game with an interception, but other than that he wasn’t good.
Early on I noticed he was struggling to keep with Denzel Mims, more so how quickly he was beaten off the route. He gave up a PI call and got burned by Breshad Perriman for two big NY touchdowns. One was unfortunate as he did lose his footing whilst back-peddling, but very uncharacteristic by his standards.
Jason McCourty
The other starting cornerback was also disappointing, and at times looked completely outmatched. At the end of the first half with under a minute to go, McCourty gave up a huge PI that leapfrogged the Jets into scoring territory. The next play? You guessed it. A Jamison Crowder touchdown to the side of the end zone which McCourty was defending.
The touchdown he gave up was a good play by NY, but the lead up to it was what really got me annoyed. If Gilmore is out for any longer, these two really need to step up or get Myles Bryant in there.
Gunner Olzewski
Gunner tries his best when returning kicks, I have no doubt about that. But his decisions to bring the ball out of the end zone to then barely get over the 20-yard line is weird to me. He wasn’t horrendous, had a couple of nice jet sweeps, but he didn’t blow the doors off.
If a returner brings the ball out from five yards into his own end zone and scores just once in a season, then he can continue doing it, we’re yet to see it.