The Jets asked fans to arrive to MetLife Stadium early on Sunday for their game against the Patriots. But they did not give them a reason to stay late.
A back-breaking penalty and three Zach Wilson interceptions led to a deflating 22-17 loss to the Patriots. The defeat ended a four-game winning streak for the Jets and is their 13th consecutive loss to New England.
Wilson started off strong but then became a turnover machine. He had gone three consecutive games without a turnover but gave the Patriots three Sunday, two in the second half. In their first game without running back Breece Hall, the Jets struggled to move the ball.
The Jets pleaded with fans to get to their seats early and then watched them head for the exits early as the game slipped away in the fourth quarter.
“This is an organization that feasts on mistakes,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said of the Patriots. “They just wait for you to implode.”
The implosion came with under a minute to play in the first half. Wilson had just thrown his first interception and the Jets were clinging to a 10-3 lead with halftime approaching. Patriots quarterback Mac Jones then threw one right to Jets cornerback Michael Carter II, who returned it 84 yards for a touchdown and what would have been a 17-3 lead … but there was a flag on the play.
Jets defensive end John Franklin-Myers was penalized for roughing the passer for his hit on Jones after he released the ball. The touchdown came off the scoreboard and the Patriots kicked a field goal just before halftime to make it 10-6. They would go on to score 19 unanswered points as the momentum completely swung with that one play.
“I know that cost the team,” Franklin-Myers said. “It just puts me in a lose-lose situation. Regardless of the outcome, I know I have to be better. I understand. They called it.”
The Jets clearly felt the call was a bad one. Saleh chose his words carefully but said the official told him the penalty was called because Franklin-Myers hit Jones too hard.
“Just a critical exchange,” Saleh said. “We can say it’s JFM’s fault. We can blame … it doesn’t matter. It happened. At the end of the day, we just have to be better.”
The air seemed to come out of the Jets after the penalty.
“If we had the pick-six before halftime, we blow them out,” safety Jordan Whitehead said.
Instead, the Jets are now 5-3 and have the first-place Bills coming to town next week. The Patriots are 4-4.
While the penalty on Franklin-Myers was the turning point, this loss was not all on him. Wilson had two interceptions that led to Patriots field goals and the Jets’ offense stumbled in its first game without Hall.
After using a run-first offense during their four-game winning streak, the Jets fell back into relying heavily on the pass. They called 43 dropbacks and just 15 runs. Wilson showed he is not ready to carry the team.
“He’s got to play better and we’ve got to find ways to help him,” Saleh said.
Wilson threw for a career-high 355 yards on 20 of 41 passing and had two touchdowns. But the interceptions sullied his day.
The Patriots took control in the third quarter. They scored their only touchdown of the game — a 5-yard pass from Jones to Jacoby Meyers — on their first drive of the second half. They opened the series with a 35-yard run by Rhamondre Stevenson with a few missed tackles from Jets defenders. The touchdown gave the Patriots a 13-10 lead, their first of the game.
“Coming out of halftime and not being able to get that stop and get the ball back to our offense was crucial and it ended up haunting us down the stretch,” defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said.
Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 45-yard field goal on their first series of the second half. The Patriots took advantage of that with a 10-play drive that ended with Nick Folk kicking a 49-yard field goal to extend the lead to 16-10. Folk, the former Jets kicker, had five field goals.
A 32-yard punt return from Marcus Jones set up Folk’s fourth field goal, a 45-yarder that gave the Patriots a 19-10 lead.
Wilson then threw his second interception to hand the Patriots the ball back with 2:29 left at the Jets’ 40. Wilson rolled to his right and tried to throw the ball out of bounds, but instead threw it to Patriots safety Devin McCourty.
“I had some boneheaded plays,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s third pick came with 11:58 left in the fourth quarter when he sailed one over his receivers’ heads and to McCourty again. Folk hit a 52-yard field goal four plays later for a 22-10 lead and Jets fans headed for the exits early.
The Jets ended up scoring a 9-yard touchdown with 1:51 left in the game when Wilson hit Tyler Conklin for his second score of the game. But the Jets could not recover the onside kick and the game was over.
The Jets now get the Bills before a bye week and another game with the Patriots. The Jets have shown they can play good football this season, but they need Wilson to protect the ball.
“He’s been playing some really good defenses but the self-inflicted wounds are what we have to get cleaned up because they’re going to make it hard enough,” Saleh said. “We just don’t have to need to compound it by making mistakes that help them.”
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Zach Wilson became turnover machine in Jets' loss to Patriots - New York Post
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