It took three weeks, but New England Patriots fans eventually got what they expected.
The Patriots followed up a pair of competitive, hard-fought performances with a primetime pantsing at the hands of the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night. New England suffered a 24-3 defeat in a game that didn't feel as close as the final score. It was over midway through the second quarter after Aaron Rodgers and company scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions.
New England's offensive line was at its worst. The Patriots allowed seven sacks and 15 quarterback hits. Next Gen Stats had New England's offensive line for 22 pressures on 35 dropbacks (62.9% of dropbacks), per the Boston Herald's Doug Kyed.
The ground-and-pound Patriots, who entered the game with one of the league's best rushing attacks, didn't do any grounding or pounding. New England ran the ball just 15 times in the contest, including just twice before Gang Green took a 14-0 lead.
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On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots missed 14 tackles and gifted the Jets 100 additional yards of offense. Think about that: New England allowed New York to cover the length of a football field in yards after missed tackles.
We knew the Patriots did not have a talented roster. They have major weak spots along the offensive line and at receiver. Injuries to a few key positions -- the Patriots sorely missed starting linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley -- confirmed New England's depth cannot stand up to the competition.
It took three weeks for the Patriots to put it on display. But with the lights at their brightest Thursday night, New England looked like the team that had the lowest projected win total entering the season.
Featured image via Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images
