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New York Jets Lose to New England on Two Critical Plays

By Alan Schechter

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Oct 25, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New York Jets quarterback

Ryan Fitzpatrick

(14) throws a pass against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets played a good game against the New England Patriots in week 7 before falling by a 30-23 score. The Jets had the lead late in the game, but in the end, the greatness of Tom Brady prevailed, with a touchdown pass to Danny Amendola putting them ahead to stay.

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But fear not, Jets fans. We can all take away from this game the fact that they are very close. The Patriots are no longer light years ahead of the Jets.  This game could have turned the other way rather easily.  The problem was that they left points on the board.

There were two critical points in the game, one early and one late.  Both times, the Jets were in the red zone, but were only able to manage field goals.  They were in the perfect play each time, and executed it well.  They just couldn’t finish.  Now, we are going to take a look at both of those plays.

The first comes from the first quarter, involving Jeff Cumberland.

All screenshots courtesy of Gamepass

The game started off badly for the Jets, with a fumble on the second play. The defense held the Patriots to three, and then the offense responded. The Jets drove the ball 14 plays down the field, setting up the play we see here.

It’s third down and goal from the two yard line.  The Jets start with two receivers right and one to the left.  Chris Owusu will motion from right to left into the slot position.  Jeff Cumberland is in the black circle, and Patrick Chung is in the red circle.  Cumberland will run a fade, heading directly to the back pylon as the arrow indicates.  Eric Decker (slot right, unmarked), will cross over the middle, creating some confusion, and Cumberland will attain some separation.

The play has moved ahead.  Jeff Cumberland has gotten behind Patrick Chung, and is looking for separation as Ryan Fitzpatrick gets ready to release the football.

Now Fitzpatrick has released the football (brown circle). The Cumberland matchup with Chung is again indicated in the black circle.  You can see some space between Cumberland and Chung at this point. The Jets have what they want, a 6’4″ tight end is matched up against a 5’11” cornerback.  As Fitz sends the ball to the corner, Cumberland should be able to go up and get the pass easily over the shorter Chung.

No such luck for the Jets, as Cumberland allows the ball to come to him, and Chung makes a play on the ball.

The Jets end up settling for a field goal, tying the game at the time, but ended up being very costly.

Now we will take a look at a play from the fourth quarter, a play which Brandon Marshall felt he “should have walked home” because of.

Well, one of the two plays.

It’s early in the fourth quarter. In the third, the Jets held for a punt, and started a drive from their own 17, leading in the game by a 17-16 score. The Jets embarked on a drive into the fourth quarter, taking up seven plays to this point.  Here it’s third and seven from the Patriots’ 12 yard line.

The Jets go empty backfield, with three receivers to the left and two to the right.  Brandon Marshall is in the slot to the right, in the circle.  Marshall is going to run straight up the field, make contact with the defender within five yards, and break to the outside.

The play moves along, and Marshall is at about the eight yard line, where he has made contact with the defender. He is going to come off of the defender and make a move to the front pylon. This one is a tight play, with a tight passing window. As we move forward, we will see Ryan Fitzpatrick unloading the football to the back shoulder of Marshall.

Here is the release of the football. Brandon Marshall is headed for the front pylon, and the throw, as indicated by the broken line, is headed to the back shoulder of the receiver. The Jets again have what they wanted. This time, it’s their best receiver in the red zone. 99 times out of 100, Brandon Marshall catches this pass.

This was the 100th time.

Marshall drops the ball, and instead of a touchdown putting the Jets up by eight, it’s a field goal to put them up by four. A Danny Amendola touchdown was the go-ahead touchdown, and the Jets were behind to stay.

The New York Jets played well, and put themselves in a position to beat their archrivals. That is the good news. They must now learn to finish.

Tom Brady can always finish. If you don’t, you won’t beat him. Ever.

Next: Jets Leave Points on the Field in Loss to Patriots

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