EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Patriots were flat-out lousy in the second half of their 28-14 loss to the Jets on Sunday at the New Meadowlands, and they can pin this tough defeat on a number of different areas.
After moving the ball at will in the opening 30 minutes, they gained just 80 yards on 23 plays (3.5 yards per play) in the second half, and they only converted 1-of-4 third-down attempts. Quarterback Tom Brady also threw two interceptions and lost one fumble after the break, compounding the struggles they simply couldn’t avoid.
Most of them boil down to three areas.
Too Much Moss
Randy Moss' 34-yard touchdown in the second quarter will go down as one of the most spectacular plays of his career, but that also served as the turning point in the game. Moss was targeted 10 times Sunday, but he only caught two passes for 38 yards, and he didn’t haul in any of his four second-half targets.
Brady seemed too willing to throw in Moss' direction after the big play, and the struggles also happened after Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis left the game with a hamstring injury. Also, both of Brady's interceptions came on throws to Moss.
When the Patriots experienced their success in the first half, Brady was throwing the ball all over the field. He hit six receivers in the first two quarters, and Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez each caught four passes. However, they only combined to catch four passes in the second half.
Moss is still one of the great weapons in the NFL, and his touchdown in the first half was a prime example of his talent. Yet, sometimes, Brady can fall a little too much in love with Moss and stops spreading the wealth, which keeps the defense guessing and off-balance.
Picking on Butler
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez heavily exploited Braylon Edwards' one-on-one matchup with cornerback Darius Butler, who might have had the toughest day of his professional career. Edwards caught five passes for 45 yards and continuously toyed with Butler, who at times was in position to make a play but got physically outmatched by Edwards.
Edwards caught three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown on the Jets' first scoring drive, and he worked off Butler each time. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound receiver has five inches and 25 pounds on Butler, and Sanchez chucked it high to Edwards to allow him to use that size.
There was no greater example than during Edwards' catch on a two-point conversion to put the Jets ahead, 21-14. Sanchez actually threw a horrendously poor pass that came up short and should have been knocked down by Butler, but Edwards too easily reached over the cornerback and snagged the ball out of the air.
Then, during the Jets' last touchdown drive, Butler was bagged twice for pass interference — once on Edwards for 23 yards and then on Jerricho Cotchery for 16 yards. It was just a clear case of a kid who got rattled by a wide receiver who was having a great day.
Jets Landed
The Patriots did a good job to limit the Jets' running attack in the first half, holding Shonn Greene (four carries, 18 yards) and LaDainian Tomlinson (four carries, 10 yards) to 28 total yards.
The second half was a completely different story, though, as Tomlinson sparked the ground game and Greene played well as a shadow to the future Hall of Famer. Tomlinson had seven carries for 66 yards after the break, and Greene chipped in with 11 carries for 34 yards.
It symbolized the fight that the Jets were willing to boast on the field, which was something the Patriots, to their own admission, lacked as the game wore on.
What's more, Tomlinson had five carries for 60 yards during the Jets' two scoring drives in the third quarter, and Greene had six carries for 20 yards during the Jets' three scoring drives in the second half. That’s a total of 11 carries for 80 yards during drives in which the Jets put points on the board.
"It's disappointing to come down here and play the way we did," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "It just wasn’t good enough."
