Marcus Jones punt return for touchdown wins game for Patriots over Jets

That was incredible.

In a game where the offense could do absolutely nothing, Marcus Jones just broke off a massive 84-yard punt return, running it to the right sideline before breaking all the way back across the field, beating the punter, and scoring a touchdown with just 5 seconds left in the game.

The Jets' kickoff return was futile, and this one is over. 

The Patriots have beaten the Jets for the 14th straight time, and they've improved to 6-4 on the year.

We almost saw some points, as Kyle Dugger flew off the edge to blind-side Zach Wilson and record what looked like a strip sack. Davon Godchaux scooped up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone. The flag bearers ran onto the field in celebration, the Bon Jovi was blaring, and it looked like the home team had just won the game (basically).

Alas, an official huddle led to the ruling being changed to Wilson being down before fumbling. And replay showed that was obviously the case.

The Jets didn't move the ball from there, which is no shock, and they punted to the Patriots, who take over now at their own 45. It's their second chance getting the ball near midfield this half. Last time, they picked up a first down before turning it over on downs. Now, they'll just need to get into field goal range to kind of put this game out of reach. The Jets' offense has been that bad.

The game has 9:01 left in it, with the score still tied at 3-3.

UPDATE: The Patriots did nothing with that field position, with Jones getting sacked on first down for a loss of 11. Palardy's punt ended up bouncing through the corner of the end zone, and the Jets take over at their 20 with 6:40 to go in a 3-3 game.

The Patriots and Jets are not putting on an offensive show today. To say the least.

The Jets have punted on all three of their third quarter possessions, gaining a grand total of three yards along the way.

The Patriots had a missed field goal and a punt to start the second half, before turning it over on downs after a failed Stevenson run on fourth-and-3 just inside the Jets' 40.

The third quarter is now over, and the game is tied 3-3. It's officially a rough one in Foxboro.

The Jets called timeouts after the Patriots' three runs late in the quarter in an effort to get the ball back. That worked, but the Jets took over at their own 42-yard line with mere seconds left on the clock.

Wilson was able to connect with Tyler Conklin for 8 yards, but he was tackled in bounds, and that brought an end to the first half, with the score tied at 3-3.

Let's take a look at some stats, shall we?

The Patriots have 151 total yards: 55 rushing yards and 96 passing yards. They've also allowed three sacks for a loss of 24 yards. They're 4-for-9 on third downs and 0-for-2 on red zone trips. They've also committed five penalties for 30 yards.

The Jets have 101 total yards: 36 rushing yards and 65 passing yards. They're 2-for-6 on third downs and 0-for-1 in the red zone. They've committed three penalties for 15 yards.

Individually, Zach Wilson is just 5-for-11 for 65 yards, and he should have had a pick, but Devin McCourty dropped the gift-wrapped INT. Wilson also has 26 rushing yards. Nobody else on the Jets has more than 7 rushing yards. Michael Carter, James Robinson and Ty Johnson have combined for 10 yards on nine carries.

Mac Jones is 12-for-15 for 120 yards.

The Jets will get the ball to start the second half.  

The Patriots were comfortably in position to at least get a field goal but possibly get a touchdown. Instead, they got nothing.

On a third-and-2 at the Jets' 7-yard line, Mac Jones scrambled for three yards. But it came back due to a holding penalty on Yodny Cajuste. On third-and-12, Jones was sacked, with Carl Lawson bowling over Trent Brown and sending the Patriots nine yards farther back.

That made Nick Folk's field goal attempt 44 yards, and on this windy day, he couldn't get enough leg on it. The kick fluttered toward the goalpost but banged off the crossbar, keeping the score tied at 3-3.

The Jets answered right back, driving into Patriots territory and notching a game-tying field goal from Greg Zuerlein.

The big play of the drive came on a 34-yard connection up the left sideline from Wilson to Denzel Mims. Jack Jones was in tight coverage, but the ball was underthrown, and Mims was able to come back to it -- while offering a gentle shove to Jones to make sure he was out of the picture.

Earlier on the drive, Matthew Judon jumped offside on a third-and-4, giving a free set of downs to the Jets.

At the end of the drive, the Jets took a delay of game penalty on what was a 40-yard field goal. So on this windy day, the task became that much harder for Zuerlein. But the veteran was up to the task, and the game is now tied.

Additionally, the Patriots announced during that drive that Isaiah Wynn had suffered a foot injury and is questionable to return. Trent Brown is now in at left tackle after spending the first quarter on the sideline.

Points will be at a premium today. The Patriots have the first of the game.

In a drive that was actually reasonably solid, the Patriots went 74 yards on 14 plays over 7:46. A completion to Kendrick Bourne on third-and-9 appeared to give the Patriots a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line. Alas, the official spot of the ball was a hair short of the line to gain, setting up a fourth-and-inches at the end of the quarter.

The Patriots' offense took the field as if they were going to go for it on that fourth down, but the Patriots called timeout and sent out Nick Folk for a 24-yard chip shot. (Palardy did just fine on the hold.)

The highlights of that drive included a 22-yard run by Harris, an 11-yard screen to Jakobi Meyers, and a jet sweep to Jonnu Smith to convert a third-and-1 that could have been a big gain if not for Smith fumbling the football while unnecessarily trying to move the football from his left hand to his right hand.

Mac Jones is now 7-for-9 for 56 yards. Harris has 32 yards on five carries. And the Patriots have a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Today marked David Andrews' first game back from the concussion he suffered vs. the Bears. Unfortunately for him, he suffered another injury, this one of the lower-body variety.

Andrews was in some serious pain and needed help to the locker room. He was listed as questionable to return with a thigh injury.

More here.

This game was always going to feature plenty of punts. We just got a couple of bonus ones for good measure.

The Jets were forced to punt -- after they did pick up a first down -- but committed a penalty on that kick. The ineligible player downfield penalty led to a punt from five yards farther back. On that punt, Raekwon McMillan bullied his way through the line and nearly blocked the punt. He didn't, but he forced a terrible punt from Braden Mann. The punter, though, smartly flopped, making it look like McMillan knocked him down. The official nearest to the play took the cheese and threw a penalty flag.

It wasn't a roughing the kicker penalty, though, as only a running into the kicker penalty was assessed. That moved the line of scrimmage back to the spot of the original fourth down. This punt went off cleanly, but return man Marcus Jones was knocked over when trying to field the punt. After a long huddle, the officials determined no penalty would be assessed.

That was a lot of kicking.

Some rookie-on-rookie action nearly resulted in a game-breaking play. Nearly.

On a third-and-2, Mac Jones hit Tyquan Thornton on a shallow crosser. The receiver made the catch briefly, but cornerback Sauce Gardner punched it loose. Gardner then scooped up the loose ball and ran it to about the 1-yard line.

Officials on the field let it all play out, before huddling and determining that Thornton had lost control of the ball before officially securing the catch. It was a bang-bang play, but the call appeared to be correct on replay, and the Jets didn't challenge.

As a result, the play was ruled incomplete, and the Patriots punted on fourth-and-2. The new punting unit did take a false start penalty on Joe Cardona though, and the Jets will start their drive at their own 23-yard line.

The Patriots' offense has gained 12 yards on six plays, and they're 0-for-2 on third down to start the game.

The Patriots' first play after their bye week ... was a sack. John Franklin-Myers came bursting through the middle and sacked Mac Jones, who was in the shotgun on that play, for a loss of seven. A four-yard gain by Damien Harris set up a third-and-13, and a short completion over the middle was stopped well short of the sticks, leading to a New England punt.

The Jets' first drive wasn't any better. Zach Wilson was chased out of bounds by Matthew Judon on first down, Michael Carter was stuffed at the line on second down, and Wilson was forced to throw it away when he had nowhere to go on third down. 

It was notable, at least, that Wilson was able to get this ball well out of bounds. Last time he faced the Patriots, he got himself into trouble by keeping a throwaway or two in the field of play.

Somewhat of note for the Patriots: Isaiah Wynn got the start at left tackle, and Yodny Cajuste started at right tackle, with Trent Brown on the sideline. There may be a rotation in play, but Brown had been the left tackle all year.

Due to what's being deemed as "technical difficulties," kickoff has been pushed back to 1:10 p.m.

So for now, everyone's just kind of running high knees on the sideline, trying to stay warm. The kickers are back out on the field getting some last-minute warmups in. And the fans in attendance naturally booed when the announcement came over the PA that the game would be delayed.

Mac Jones has had a rough season. That's no secret. 

Ian Rapoport provided some details on how Jones' spent his bye week, as the second-year quarterback worked to sync up his timing with receivers.

You can read more about it here.

The inactive lists for both teams have been released.

Notably for the Patriots, wide receiver DeVante Parker is back in action. He left the Patriots' last game against the Jets on the opening drive after suffering a knee injury, which caused him to miss the Patriots' game against the Colts the following week. But with a bye week to recover, Parker is back in action.

Parker had been listed as questionable, along with Josh Uche (hamstring) and Anfernee Jennings (back), but all three are playing.

This will also mark the return of David Andrews. He's been out since suffering a concussion late in the loss to the Bears. That's a huge upgrade for the Patriots' O-line, as Mac Jones has a fighting chance to have a decent game with the returns of Andrews and Parker.

We don't often spend too much time talking about punters, but the Patriots have a rather important situation playing out at the position today.

Struggling punter Jake Bailey was placed on injured reserve on Saturday, meaning he's out for at least four games.

Fortunately for the Patriots, they were prepared for such a moment, as they had veteran journeyman punter Michael Palardy on the practice squat.

The left-footed punter has played in the NFL for the Panthers and Dolphins, but he's also spent time on the rosters of the Raiders, Rams, Ravens, Colts, Browns, and Falcons. He also played for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL.

Not only will his punting play a factor, but he'll also (likely) be handling kickoff duties and holding duties on Nick Folk's kicks.

It's a job that's often taken for granted, but on what is a windy day, Palardy has several tall tasks ahead of him.

Palardy has punted 321 times in his NFL career, with a long of 65 yards and an average of 45.2 yards. He's also kicked off seven times.