One of the Patriots’ three touchdown passes in their demolition of the Jets landed with a very fitting recipient.
Sunday marked “National Tight Ends Day,” so it was only right that Hunter Henry found the end zone. One of New England’s top offseason acquisitions made an acrobatic catch on a 1-yard pass from Mac Jones in the second quarter as the Patriots opened the floodgates on their longtime rival at Gillette Stadium.
Jones was well aware that it was a special day for Henry, Jonnu Smith and the rest of New England’s tight ends. The rookie quarterback can thank Henry for that.
“Yeah, Hunter told me it was national tight end day before the game actually, not that it had anything to do with it, but it was just funny,” Jones told reporters after the Patriots’ 54-13 win, per a team-provided transcript. “Yeah, I think tight ends, all of our tight ends play well, and they play well in the run game and the pass game and they do exactly what they’re supposed to do. I think it’s good when you have great skill players and great running backs, great receivers, and then our O-line is coming together, and we’re going to keep making progress. I felt comfortable back there, and they did a great job, so it takes all groups and not one specific group. It is good to see everyone getting a little bit of their share, and we’ve just got to keep doing that.”
Henry now has hauled in a touchdown pass in each of the Patriots’ last four games. After a slow start to his New England tenure, the sixth-year pro is starting to look like the player he’s expected to be.
