New England Patriots: Studs and duds from Week 9 vs. Jets
Stud: Cam Newton, QB
Cam Newton has struggled in the last few games since returning from the Reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this season that resulted in him missing one game, but he bounced back to help lead New England to victory on Monday night and avoid a disastrous loss against the Jets.
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In the game, the Patriots quarterback finished with 27 completions on 35 pass attempts, throwing for 274 yards while not throwing an interception or fumbling the ball in the contest. On the ground, Newton continued to be dominant with 10 carries for 16 yards and two huge touchdowns.
Newton entered Week 9 with a record of 1-38 when trailing by double-digits in the fourth quarter, but he was the main reason why New England was able to complete that comeback against New York.
Dud: First half production
The biggest dud was the play of the Patriots and most notably the first-half production by New England. The Patriots got off to a relatively decent start to the game, out-scoring the Jets 7-3 in the opening frame to carry a four-point lead after one quarter. But, their play in the second quarter was brutal and resulted in New York grabbing 17 points to take a 20-10 lead into halftime.
Not only was allowing the Jets to operate freely a concern, but the Patriots defense looked terrible in the first half. Most notably, arguably their strongest part of the team — the secondary — was picked apart by Joe Flacco and the Jets offense.
New England has a lot to work on following the Week 9 game, but the first half production and the terrible defensive performance during that stretch is a good place to start.