The New England Patriots moved to 9-2 on the year after beating the New York Jets on TNF, and for good reason, certain players will get most of the focus. Stefon Diggs has over 100 yards, TreVeyon Henderson had three touchdowns, and rookie UDFA Elijah Ponder had his second consecutive game with a sack.
It was an impressive performance that saw the Patriots win 27-14, but a more under-the-radar factor was at play to hold the Jets at bay.
Keeping the Jets' offensive production to a minimum isn't all that difficult to do. They've been held to 22 points or less six times through nine games, and their offense ranks 25th in PPG overall. Justin Fields was just benched for Tyrod Taylor this week, and he's had four games with less than 55 passing yards this year.
Breece Hall has some impressive games, but he managed only 58 yards on the ground against New England. Garrett Wilson did not play in the game either, and Braelon Allen has been on IR with a knee injury since Week 4. When the Jets do win, it hasn't been the offense that's stepped up.
The Patriots special teams was incredible against the Jets
The Jets squeezed out just their second win of the year before their game against the Patriots, beating the Browns 27-20. The difficult part to understand about this win wasn't that the Jets beat a struggling team, but how they won when Justin Fields had just five passing yards in the first half.
He finished the game with 54 yards passing, and without a touchdown screen pass to Breece Hall, his final stat line would have been 5/10 for 12 yards and an interception.
What kept the Jets in the game was a pair of special teams touchdowns: one a kick return from Kene Nwangwu and another coming from Isaiah Williams on a punt return. The Jets would have lost had they not managed scores on special teams, and keeping that from happening against New England was a major point of emphasis.
Regarding the Patriots' strong special teams performance, Vrabel said, "Schooler got triple-teamed one time, went down there and made a play. We punted well. The gunners did a nice job. But, you're right, they are have a really good return unit. I thought our kickoff coverage took a lot of pride, and I think we've done a really good job of covering kicks. So that was a good challenge. They stood up to it."
The Patriots allowed 24 yards per kick return, a yard shy of a touchback. On punt returns, Isaiah Williams managed just six yards per return, far below his previous game's average, which was north of 25. While players like Brenden Schooler, Dell Pettus, and Bryce Baringer may not get much media attention, they've been key pieces of Jeremy Springer's special teams unit.