Patriots Notes: Nick Folk Plays Hero Vs. Jets; Damien Harris Exits With Injury

Some assorted notes and nuggets from the New England Patriots’ dramatic 30-27 victory over the New York Jets on Monday night at MetLife Stadium:

— A former Jet provided the deciding points for New England.

Kicker Nick Folk blasted a 51-yard game-winning field goal as time expired to give the Patriots their first victory since late September.

Folk, who also converted from 45 and 29 yards earlier in the game, reached his arms skyward well before the ball reached the uprights.

“I hit it pretty well right away, and then as soon as I saw it kind of go 20 yards down the field, I knew it was going to stay pretty true,” he said in a postgame video conference. “I knew I had enough leg to get it there.”

What the Patriots did not know during the lead-up to Monday’s game was whether Folk would be healthy enough to kick. He sat out practice Friday with a back injury and was listed as questionable on New England’s final injury report.

During pregame warmups, Patriots punter/kickoff man Jake Bailey practiced field goals, with receiver/return man Gunner Olszewski holding.

Folk said this was just a precaution.

“(I) felt good enough to kick,” he said. “I didn’t want to let the guys down. I wanted to play, help them out any way I could. We came up with a good plan, and I think it worked out. I think Jake was more of an emergency (option) this week more than any other week. I don’t think Jake ever thought he was going to have to go in. It was more of getting a feel as an uber emergency, super emergency.”

Folk, who celebrated his 36th birthday last week, spent seven seasons with the Jets from 2010 to 2016. He drew on that experience as he lined up his final kick.

“Obviously, playing in MetLife for so long, night games are usually the easiest, I would say, with the weather — the wind, anyway,” Folk said. “So I kind of knew that. And I’m just happy to get a win.”

After re-signing with the Patriots midway through training camp, Folk endured some early-season struggles, missing field goals in Weeks 1 and 2 and shaking an extra point in Week 3. He’s been perfect since, however, going 10-for-10 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points over New England’s last five games.

“Nick did a great job,” head coach Bill Belichick said in his postgame video call. “He’s a tough kid. He came through for us, obviously, in a big way. He’s really been consistent for us over the last year-and-a-half. There couldn’t be a bigger kick, and he put it right down the middle. Awesome job on his part.”

— One injury situation to monitor this week: Running back Damien Harris left Monday’s game and did not return after absorbing a punishing hit from linebacker Neville Hewitt. The Patriots announced his ailment as a chest injury.

Before going down, Harris tallied a game-high 71 yards on 14 carries, including a 21-yarder on the play that preceded his injury. The second-year pro has impressed since replacing Sony Michel as New England’s lead back in Week 4.

Harris played sparingly as a rookie last season and missed the Patriots’ first three games this year after suffering a hand injury late in training camp.

The Patriots opted not to activate Michel off IR ahead of Monday’s game. That activation could come this week.

— Isaiah Ford was unavailable Monday night as he completes his battery of COVID-19 testing, but Belichick did share some thoughts on the newly acquired wideout during his pregame interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Ford came to the Patriots from the Miami Dolphins, whose offensive coordinator last season, Chad O’Shea, was a longtime New England assistant. Belichick said Ford’s experience playing under O’Shea should ease his transition.

“For Ford, that’s a good point,” the coach said. “He was with Chad last year. He can recall a lot of the terminology that they had. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s certainly close. It’s not like starting over again. Again, we haven’t had a chance to work with him. We’ve talked to him, but hopefully he’ll be able to pick things up in a timely way, and we’ll see if we can get him ready as soon as possible.”

The Patriots sent a conditional 2022 sixth-round draft pick to Miami for Ford. They also signed veteran receiver Donte Moncrief to their practice squad last week.

Moncrief did not play against the Jets — fellow wideout Kristian Wilkerson was elevated to the gameday roster and saw limited action — but could be a candidate for elevation in future games.

“At this point in time, when you look across the league and just try to see some players that are available, that have some experience, fit your needs and you can get them onto your team — with the bigger practice squads and more players on injured reserve and things like that, there are just a few less opportunities than maybe what there would have been,” Belichick said.

“But that enables us to have more guys in our system, too. That’s just the way it’s kind of set up this year, and I think it’s, for the most part, given teams more depth on their roster instead of off their roster. But as some point, you need to bring guys in off your roster, so that’s where we were last week.”

The Patriots’ receiving corps has been without N’Keal Harry (concussion) and Julian Edelman (knee) in recent weeks but has gotten superb production from Jakobi Meyers, who set career highs with 12 catches on 14 targets for 169 yards Monday night.