Patriots lose to Favre and the Jets

New England falls to New York

Offense: Matt Cassel proved he can lead his team to touchdown drives and played very well in a 34-31 loss to the New York Jets. Cassel, who was thought to be the weakest link and the cause of the Patriots struggles, made a variety of short and long passes while throwing for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns. New England took advantage of the field spacing, as the Jets allowed receivers to remain open near the line of scrimmage and a few times the team converted on long completions. Cassel looked pretty good, whether he was throwing sideline passes or towards the middle of the field. The offensive line, which has definitely had difficulties in several games this season, provided adequate protection and kept their quarterback from getting hit. The passing game had arguably their best performance of the season, and there was consistency in attacking the secondary and stretching the field for longer gains. For the first time, the Patriots relied almost purely on the pass, as they attempted to throw the ball on about two-thirds of their total plays. Cassel was the leading rusher with 62 yards on 8 quarterback scrambles. The Patriots runningbacks combined for only 17 carries, with Kevin Faulk getting most of them. It was clear that the gameplan was to attack the Jets secondary, since they are very susceptible to any passing attack. The Jets rank in the bottom ten in both passing yards allowed and completion percentage. Offensively, this strategy was successful and the Patriots got their share of scores. Against future opponents, this type of play calling would only happen against a poor defense and it is more likely that the Patriots will mix up a variety of plays, letting Cassel manage the game for them.

Defense: This game was a matchup of quarterbacks, and New England could not stop or contain Brett Favre. He absolutely teared through the Patriots defense, completing passes in every type of situation. Whether it was first down or third down, Favre came through with a play that kept a Jets drive alive. Favre is known to be a good scrambler and can create plays out of nowhere. This is when it is necessary to pressure the quarterback and limit the amount of time he has to get rid of the ball. The Patriots pass rush made an attempt to get to the quarterback, but rarely hit Favre or forced him into an errant pass. It really seems the pass rush is the one part of the defense that has not been present this season. New England committed a few penalties that extended drives for the Jets and helped them jump out to an early 18 point first half lead. The pass coverage for New England didn't appear to be prepared for the consistent passes about ten yards down the field or the passes towards the sidelines for a first down. Although Favre likes to throw deep, the Jets offense is based on five to ten yard passes, and relies on yards after the catch for big plays. There are some similarities between the Patriots and the Jets offenses, both are heavily influenced by short passes. It would seem that the Patriots should be well prepared for this, considering they caused problems for Favre and the Jets in the first matchup on the road. It was a surprise to see so much space given to Jets receivers, and the result was a high amount of completions. This was one of the few times New England was not playing energetic defense for the whole game.

Special Teams: Stephen Gostkowski made all three field goals and both extra point attempts. Chris Hanson punted four times for an average of 44 yards. New England averaged 23 yards on kickoff returns and 5 yards on punt returns.

By Chad Fukuoka
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent