New England Patriots: Studs and duds season-closing win over Jets
Studs and duds from the New England Patriots season-ending win over the Jets.
The New England Patriots took the field in the regular-season finale in Week 17 looking to basically just end the season as soon as possible after a disappointing 2020 campaign.
In what has been a tough year in New England, the Patriots wrapped up the season at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Sunday afternoon while hosting the New York Jets in a battle between the bottom two teams in the AFC East.
In the game between two rough-looking squads, the Patriots ended up coming out on top 28-14 behind a big fourth quarter to sweep the two-game series against the Jets this year.
To open up the game, New England jumped out to an early lead at home against New York, taking a 7-0 lead after the first quarter. New York ended up adding a touchdown of its own in the second quarter to even things up at 7-7 going into halftime.
In the second half, the Jets and Patriots both scored seven points in the third quarter, but New England stepped on the gas in the fourth quarter while holding a 14-0 advantage to come away with a 14-point victory.
With the season now finally over for both the Patriots and Jets while both teams look to try and rebuild this offseason ahead of 2021, let’s go back and look at some studs and duds from New England in Week 17.
Stud: Cam Newton
One player on the Patriots who has received a ton of criticism so far this season has been Cam Newton in his first season under center in New England.
Most of that criticism is well-deserved, as Newton has failed to improve the passing game with the Patriots throughout the course of the season while having that area of the offense emerge as one of the biggest weaknesses for New England.
On Sunday in Week 17 however, Newton did a nice job as the starting quarterback to lead the Patriots, finishing with 21 completions for 242 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He also added a total of 11 carries for 79 yards on the ground.
Newton had a bounce-back performance in the regular season finale, but the Patriots still might look elsewhere at quarterback in 2021.
Dud: Rush defense
One thing that didn’t look too great on the side of New England on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough was its rushing defense and holding New York in check in that area of the offense.
In the game, the Jets finished with 25 carries for 111 yards and one touchdown, led by Josh Adams and Ty Johnson on the ground. Adams ended the game with 11 rushes for 47 yards and one touchdown, while Johnson came in behind him with 11 carries for 45 yards out of the backfield.
New England has some decisions to make on defense in 2021 and beyond, and that unit will hope to bounce back as a strong group yet again next season.