New England Patriots: The Top 5 Moments Of The 2014 Season

Oct 16, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New York Jets kicker Nick Folk (2) reacts after missing a field goal at the end of the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots defeated the New York Jets 27-25. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

4. Blocked Kick Versus The Jets

When the New York Jets come to town, it will always be a dog-fight, and that was exactly the case on October 16th on ‘Thursday Night Football’. The Jets were a lowly 1-5, while New England was riding high after taking out the Bengals and Bills in dominating fashion. But as usual, Rex Ryan came in with a great game-plan, and the Jets gave the Pats all they could handle.

New York racked up 218 yards on the ground, and more than doubled the Patriots in time of possession. Geno Smith played a clean game, and put the Jets in position to win the game on a 58-yard Nick Folk field goal. It obviously wasn’t a gimme, but Folk is one of the best kickers in the NFL, and everybody in that stadium knew he was capable of knocking it through.

Thankfully, our good friend Chris Jones came up huge with the block, which preserved the two-point victory over their arch rivals. Winning division games is extremely important for NFL teams, and style points never matter. Just get the win, and advance.

At that point in the season, going into the mini-bye with two straight wins over divisional foes was huge for the Pats. It set them up for a big finish to the year.