New England Patriots put away New York Jets with dominant second half

The New England Patriots got back in the win column, defeating the New York Jets in Week 12.

The New England Patriots entered their bye week off an ugly performance against the Tennessee Titans in Week 10. The Titans blew out the Patriots, winning 34-10. New England had a week to stew over their loss and took some of that aggression out of the New York Jets.

The Jets, like the Patriots, came into their Week 12 matchup off their bye. Also like New England, New York suffered an embarrassing loss, getting blown out by the Buffalo Bills. They suffered another blowout loss this afternoon against the Patriots.

The Jets were gamers for a majority of this game. The teams were tied at 13 going into halftime, but New England took control in the second half. They were able to outscore the Jets 17-3 in the second half. After their opening drive, which resulted in a field goal, the Jets didn’t score the remainder of the game.

The Patriots had things rolling offensively. While they didn’t finish every drive and there were some hiccups throughout the game, things went well overall.

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Sony Michel returned to the lineup with a bang. He ran all over the Jets, carrying the ball 21 times for 133 yards and one touchdown. He added two receptions for 12 yards for a solid all-around game.

James White also ran the ball well. He handled nine carries, turning them into 73 yards of his own. Shockingly, he was not utilized much in the passing game, as White caught only one pass for five yards on five targets.

Part of the downgrade in usage is because tight end Rob Gronkowski returned to the lineup. Gronkowski caught three of seven targets for 56 yards and one touchdown. The seven targets led the team.

Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon and White all received five targets. Edelman had the biggest day, turning his targets into four receptions for 84 yards and one touchdown. Gordon was solid, catching all five targets for 70 yards.

Overall, Tom Brady had a strong day as well. He completed 20-of-31 attempts for 283 yards and two touchdowns. The offensive line kept him upright, as he wasn’t sacked once and was hit five times in the game. Having the offensive line healthy looked to benefit the offense as a whole.

Defensively, the Patriots did their job. The run defense looks okay on paper, as they allowed only 74 yards. However, the game script was a big reason for that. New York ran the ball only 15 times, compared to 45 pass attempts for Josh McCown.

McCown completed 26 of those 45 attempts for 276 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception, while also enduring two sacks.

While it wasn’t as dominating of a performance as the box score may indicate, the Patriots were clearly the better team on Sunday afternoon. They will now return back home to Gillette Field to host the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.