Four Ups, Four Downs From Patriots' Blowout Victory Over Jets
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots absolutely walloped the Jets on Sunday, to the tune of a 54-13 final score. And now we're going to run through the positives and negatives from a Patriots perspective.
OK, just kidding. There won't be any negatives.
Sure, you could harp on ... a missed PAT ... or the one drive that didn't produce points ... or, uhh ... 95 penalty yards? But you'd be nuts to do so.
So instead of the traditional Four Ups, Four Downs, here is a collection of as many Ups from this down as possible.
Mac Jones
In his last game against the Jets, he didn't have to do too much to earn a win. So he didn't. This time out, he also didn't have to do too much, but he did a whole lot.
Jones was 24-for-36 for 307 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 13 yards to convert a third-and-10 a few plays before throwing one of his two touchdowns.
You know it was a good one for Jones because he only criticized himself for one of his misfires after the win. For the world's harshest self-critic, that's a big sign.
Kyle Dugger
The second-year safety went his first 19 NFL games without making an interception. He now has two in seven days.
Dugger showed some tremendous fingertip strength to haul in a pick from Mike White in the third quarter. He also led the team with six solo tackles and eight total tackles, making up for the loss of Devin McCourty, who sat out much of the game after getting hurt.
Damien Harris
The stats say it all: 106 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries. That is awfully efficient.
Offensive Line
The O-line has surprisingly been a point of weakness for the Patriots this year, but they figured a whole lot out on Sunday. Jones was sacked just once, and the Patriots ran for 148 yards and four touchdowns. It was certainly their best game of the season.
Brandon Bolden
On a day when the quarterback threw for over 300 yards, it was Brandon Bolden of all people who led the team in receiving yards. Bolden caught six passes (on seven targets) for 79 yards and a touchdown -- just the fifth touchdown of his nine-year career.
Kendrick Bourne
He caught four passes for 68 yards, coming up just a yard shy of scoring a touchdown on a long bomb up the left sideline. He also threw a touchdown -- his first throw since high school, according to him -- to get the scoring started in the first quarter.
J.J. Taylor
He didn't pile up big stats, but he found the end zone for the first time in his career. Then he did it again.
Hunter Henry
He made a tremendous catch to haul in Jones' second touchdown pass, giving the tight end four touchdowns in the last four games. The Patriots got three total touchdowns from their tight ends in the entire 2019 and 2020 seasons combined, so the Henry signing is paying off.
Defense ... Across The Board
Christian Barmore and Lawrence Guy did a good job on the interior. (The Jets ran for 62 yards on 17 carries.) Matthew Judon was, as he usually is, flying off the edge every snap. Myles Bryant, in an elevated role with Jonathan Jones on IR, recorded a sack and was in on six tackles. J.C. Jackson intercepted another pass. Daniel Ekuale was elevated from the practice squad and came up with a sack. Ja'Whaun Bentley made Dont'a Hightower's absence not noticeable.
The Patriots kept the Jets to 299 yards and 13 points. A good day for the whole unit.
Nick Folk
The kicker missed a PAT ... but also made six of them, while also going 2-for-2 on field goals. He made a 39-yarder and a 50-yarder, reaching the milestone of successful kick No. 300 of his career.
Tally all of that up, and it looks like ... 10 ups and no downs. These things happen when the Jets come to town.
