New England Patriots vs New York Jets: 5 Biggest Takeaways

1. Brady Beyond Brilliant:

While the rain and cold seemed to affect both Jets quarterbacks, Tom Brady seemingly had little problem with the inclement weather.

Bryce Petty was zero for three passing with an interception and was sacked twice. He hurt his shoulder trying to recover a fumble and his day ended with a 0.0 quarterback rating. Ryan Fitzpatrick was eight-for-21 for 136 yards with two picks for a 21.2 quarterback rating.

Brady was 17-for-27 for 214 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions for a 124.6 quarterback rating. Of Brady’s ten incompletions, two were straight-up drops and one was a throw-away under pressure.

Brady got rid of the ball quickly, he moved well in the pocket when he needed to, he was sacked just one time, and his best pass of the game did not show up on the stat sheet. At the end of the second half the Patriots seemed content to run out the clock before Jets head coach Todd Bowles called a timeout with 46 seconds to play.  

The Patriots came back, made a first down, and then Brady went deep for rookie wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. It was 51 yards in the air, a perfect pass, and had Jets cornerback Doug Middleton not had his arm wrapped around Mitchell’s arm preventing him from catching the ball. The pass was perfect–and one of those passes that Brady has had trouble completing from 2010 to 2015.

Brady continues to put up ridiculous numbers in 2016 as the Patriots head towards the playoffs. Brady is 10-1 as a starter, is completing 66.7% of his passes for 3,278 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just two interceptions for a 110.7 quarterback rating. He has been an MVP candidate since he first stepped on the field in week five against Cleveland.

Brady has been brilliant in 2016 and last week was no different.