New England Patriots: Week 17 Wrap-up (New York Jets edition)
By Hal Bent
With the regular season concluded, the Patriots have an opportunity to take stock of how they handled their Week 17 opponent, before turning their eyes to the playoffs and their next foe.
The final week of the NFL regular season has come and gone, and the Patriots now will await the results of Wild Card Weekend to find out who they’ll be playing next weekend in the Divisional Round.
Before we get there though, it’s worth taking one last look at how the team responded to a season full of challenges – specifically with regards to their Week 17 opponent, the New York Jets.
The Jets did as expected and moved on from head coach Todd Bowles on Black Monday, less than 24 hours after the team’s 38-3 meltdown in Foxborough. Oddly enough, owner Woody Johnson and the rest of the New York brain trust elected to keep general manager Mike Maccagnan steering the ship; even though his Jets have just 14 wins over the past three seasons.
The Patriots had everything in the world to play for on Sunday, needing a victory to lock up a bye week in the first round of the playoffs, and the team didn’t falter. Heading into this contest against their bitter division rival, we identified a number of key factors that would contribute to the outcome of the game (and the season) for both teams.
And while it would have been easy to just point to Sam Darnold, Chris Herndon and Robby Anderson on offense as the Jets to watch last Sunday, that’s too easy. Likewise, on defense, the Jets leaned all season on the Big Cat Leonard Williams in the trenches, linebacker Avery Williamson in the middle (with Darron Lee suspended), and in the secondary: superstar safety Jamal Adams.
Those are all the big names, sure, but they weren’t the only ones making an impact on Sunday’s game, even in a losing effort. Here are three other, lesser-known Jets players that might have flown under the radar this season for Pats fans, but should become more familiar after the playoffs end and all 32 teams turn to the 2019 season.
After all: it’s never too early to start thinking about the future in the NFL. And for the Patriots and the Jets, two rivals who meet at least twice every year, we might as well start getting familiar with them now while the game tape from last Sunday is still fresh: