What We Saw: Week 11

Jets @ Patriots

Final Score: Patriots 10, Jets 3

Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)

Due to electrical issues in Gillette Stadium, this game was delayed by ten minutes. The CBS truck had a power outage and the Patriots’ pregame radio broadcast was also impacted by electricity issues before the game, and it would have been better for everyone if this game simply wasn’t televised at all.

The wind was gusting all day, but it didn’t seem to impact the game too much besides the punters. This game was mostly impacted by poor QB play out of Zach Wilson and poor O-Line play for the Patriots. New England had a few drives into Jets territory but couldn’t quite capitalize as Nick Folk missed two field goals. The misses weren’t wind-related – their punter, and holder, Jake Bailey, was put on IR this week so Folk was clearly impacted by the new holder.

Patriots’ center David Andrews returned from a concussion, though he left on the Patriots’ third series with a leg injury that looked serious. Andrews was in a ton of pain and did not return. They needed him back to stabilize an offensive line that has struggled mightily in recent weeks, and once he went down they went right back to looking completely incompetent.

The Jets did not play to win this game. At the end of the first half, the Jets had 4th and 2 at the Patriots’ 42 with a minute left and two timeouts. In a 3-3 game, points were at a premium, but they decided to punt instead of going for it. This is when they lost the game. They had two yards of total offense in the 2nd half and they weren’t a threat to score at any point.

This game is so boring, even Robert Kraft is taking a nap during it pic.twitter.com/PHBG44GZlJ

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) November 20, 2022

At the end of the 4th quarter, the Jets bled the clock to play for OT. Instead of punting the ball out of bounds, they kicked it to Marcus Jones. That ended up being a big mistake.

MARCUS JONES ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Game winner. 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZJdLzAVbeP

— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) November 20, 2022

This was the 1st punt return TD in the NFL this season and it came at the best possible time for New England. This was the Jets’ 14th straight loss against the Patriots.

This was the first time in Jets history they lost a game without allowing any touchdowns on defense and without committing any turnovers.

— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) November 20, 2022

New York Jets

Quarterback

Zach Wilson: 9/22, 77 Yards | 3 Carries, 26 Yards

pic.twitter.com/E3R4UtARI3

— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) November 21, 2022

Zach Wilson is a bust. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He struggles with decision making and he struggles to throw an accurate ball on even the easiest of routes. His best throw of the day came near the end of the second quarter, where he threw a perfect ball up the middle of the field to a wide-open Devin McCourty who dropped it and couldn’t come down with the ca-err, interception. Because McCourty plays for the Patriots and Wilson is addicted to throwing perfect throws to Devin McCourty.

Wilson couldn't have suspected Belichick would put a safety five yards behind the open receiver pic.twitter.com/qjAEO1GHT4

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) November 20, 2022

Disaster nearly struck twice in the 4th quarter for Wilson. First, he was nearly strip sacked by Kyle Dugger at the goal line, but his arm was down before the ball came out. Dugger was unblocked off the edge and somehow Wilson simply didn’t see him. He was lucky to get up after the hit he took.

On the Jets’ last drive, Wilson tried throwing a quick out at the sideline but Jonathan Jones jumped the route and nearly picked it off. It would have been an easy pick-six.

The Jets need to find a replacement in the offseason because their defense is good enough to win right now. Wilson is simply not the answer.

Running Back

Michael Carter: 8 Carries, 19 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, -2 Yards

Ty Johnson: 4 Carries, 4 Yards | 1 Target

The Patriots’ run defense is among the best in the league, and they bottled up this running game all day long. There was nowhere to run all day long, and I’m not quite sure why the Jets didn’t try to run more screens and let Michael Carter try to earn some yards in space. He’s a playmaker but they just didn’t use him in unique ways today, and as a result, their offense was way too predictable.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Garrett Wilson: 1 Carry | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 12 Yards

Denzel Mims: 6 Targets, 2 Receptions, 35 Yards

Elijah Moore: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards

Tyler Conklin: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards

Braxton Berrios: 1 Target

There’s not much to talk about with this group thanks to Wilson’s awful play in this game.

Denzel Mims was wide open over the middle of the field on their first drive but he dropped the ball after inexplicably trying to jump and catch it rather than using his hands like a normal receiver would.

This is a bad drop by Denzel Mims pic.twitter.com/RNwHtXLgRp

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) November 20, 2022

Garrett Wilson made a nice diving catch that could have been challenged – it looked as if the ball may have bounced on the ground, but the offense got up and snapped the ball before it could be challenged. Elijah Moore had two catches on the same drive but was invisible otherwise.

New England Patriots

Quarterback

Mac Jones: 23/27, 246 Yards | 2 Carries, 3 Yards

Mac Jones actually played pretty well in this game, when he had time in the pocket at least. The offensive line was a complete disaster and struggled to keep him upright, but Mac was able to hit check downs and receivers on more short, quick routes that have been lacking for much of this season. It seemed like offensive coordinator Matt Patricia finally took some time over the bye week to realize that the offense simply couldn’t function if Mac had no time to throw and nobody running routes within five yards of the line of scrimmage, so it was nice to see that change.

Mac was shaken up in this game. At one point he scrambled for a few yards and appeared to injure himself as he dove to the ground. It wasn’t clear if he was injured when his head hit a defender’s leg or if he got his injured ankle caught in the turf, but he was down on the ground for a few seconds after the play and was clearly in pain. He got sacked on the next play and his own teammate rolled up on his ankle, and again Mac was wincing as he walked off the field. For a moment it looked like Bailey Zappe might get into the game, but that did not ultimately come to fruition.

Bailey Zappe did put his helmet on and throw a couple of passes before returning to the bench. Could be precautionary (or just trying to stay warm on a cold day) https://t.co/rV3zRPcqv1

— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) November 20, 2022

Mac ended up finishing the game but the Patriots struggled to keep drives going in the second half. From a fantasy perspective, there just isn’t much there for Mac this season considering the incompetency at OC and the awful OL in front of him.

Running Back

Damien Harris: 8 Carries, 65 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 28 Yards

Rhamondre Stevenson: 15 Carries, 26 Yards | 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 56 Yards

This group was the most impressive of anyone on the field in this game. Damien Harris looked AWESOME today. He looked fast, he looked quick, and he looked healthy after missing a few weeks before the bye. He had two long runs where he hit open space and turned on the jets (no pun intended). It was also nice to see him involved in the passing game, where he was able to make a couple of catches and make some defenders miss to earn extra yards. If he’s available in your league, pick him up.

https://twitter.com/FTBeard7/status/1594400383400411136?s=20&t=jIe1cLT57GIDzfrLcUXIjA

Rhamondre Stevenson didn’t look as good on the ground today – he was mostly running into a wall throughout the day – but in the passing game he was dynamic and near-impossible to take down. He had two receptions where he ran over defenders or ran through them to earn extra yards.

It took six #Jets defenders to tackle Rhamondre Stevenson. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/iRr6cZjHx0

— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) November 20, 2022

The offense was pretty predictable for most of the day, and the Jets’ defense deserves a ton of credit for keeping the Patriots’ running game in check. There were no red zone opportunities for either player this week, which limited both players’ ceiling in such a low-scoring game.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Jonnu Smith: 1 Carry, 5 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 40 Yards | 1 Fumble (Recovered)

Jakobi Meyers: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 52 Yards

Hunter Henry: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 20 Yards

DeVante Parker: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 19 Yards

Nelson Agholor: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards

Kendrick Bourne: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

Tyquan Thornton: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 5 Yards

Jakobi Meyers is ol’ reliable and the only fantasy-relevant player of this group these days. He is Mac’s favorite target and Mac looked his way early and often in this one. Mac did miss Meyers on a 3rd down play where Mac rolled out and threw on the run, and the ball was too low for Meyers to come down with.

Jonnu Smith was next up with targets but he did fumble a ball on a play where he could have easily found the end zone. He took a jet sweep to the left side of the field, and as he tried to transfer the ball between hands he flat-out dropped it.

https://twitter.com/FTBeard7/status/1594402694713593857?s=20&t=pXdyjGC4_ItCY9lBpwRasg

DeVante Parker returned after missing a few weeks with an injury and he did not make an impact. Tyquan Thornton nearly had a catch and fumble that was almost returned for a TD but it was ruled incomplete. Hunter Henry had a nice catch and run on his lone target and it’s truly a shame that he’s not more involved in this offense.