AFC South & East Reporter
By Lisa Johnson // @LJ1303
The Patriot’s reign over the AFC East appears to be in good standing.
The Patriots took their perfect 6-0 record into New York Monday night and completely dominated their AFC East rival New York Jets.
The Jets, coming off their huge win against the Dallas Cowboys last week at Met Life, failed to gain any ground in the standings. They are now sitting with a 1-5 record with little to no chance of seeing postseason play, let alone give the Patriots any sort of competition for an AFC East title.
Jets quarterback Sam Darnold turned the ball over five times, going 11 of 32 for just 86 yards. To add to Darnold’s miserable night, ESPN mics picked up Darnold saying he was seeing ghosts out there. Following the game, Darnold told NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones “You know, I think for me when I talk to the coaches, I’ve just got to be straight up. And for me, I’ve just got to see the field a lot better…That’s kind of what that means.”
When asked about his quarterbacks’ comments, Jets Head Coach Adam Gase “Obviously, when we go back and look at this, he’s not going to be happy,” Gase said, per the team. “He probably was feeling like guys were coming free when they might not have been. It’s tough. … If you guys don’t pick some of this stuff up early, they’re going to keep bringing it and they’re going to find different ways to bring it. And then it’s just going to get bad from there, which it did.”
On the Patriots side of the ball, QB Tom Brady was well, doing Tom Brady things. Brady set the tone going for a respectful 31 of 45 for 249 yards and 1 Touchdown. This allowed the Patriots defense to hassle Jets QB Sam Darnold all night long. Patriots defensive backs Stephon Gilmore, Terrence Brooks, Devin McCourty, and Duron Harmon all got into the action, each having picked off Darnold. The other turnover came as Darnold fumbled the ball in the end zone for which he quickly swatted out for a Patriots safety.
This was the Patriot’s second shutout of the season against an AFC East rival. Patriots shut out the Dolphins 43-0 Week 2 in Miami.
Following the game Tom Brady on this team performance “We’re a long way from thinking about those things,” Brady told ESPN after the game. “Again, just happy we won. Seven wins doesn’t get you anything in the NFL. But, you know, 33-0 — I mean, if we don’t give up any points, it’s gonna be hard to lose. But our offense has to come through when we’re counted on. Guys made some plays tonight. We’ve got to make more next week.”
Up next, the Patriots will host Cleveland and the Jets will travel to Jacksonville.
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