Photo credit: Jim McIsaac | Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets dives into the end zone late for a touchdown. (Nov. 13, 2011)
Galleries Patriots 37, Jets 16 Jets 2011 schedule and results
Web links Game stats: Patriots 37, Jets 16 Tracking Mark Sanchez TDs at MetLife Stadium
All week long, Rex Ryan boasted about his team's improvement during the past month, saying he thought the Jets were a vastly better team since their last meeting with the Patriots.
Ryan was almost sure the Jets would prove it Sunday night with millions watching their prime-time tilt, that they would seize control of the AFC East and stay on the fast track to hosting a playoff game. Ryan was sure the Jets had cleaned up various aspects of their attack that needed correcting, a big reason for the three-game winning streak they rode into Sunday night's game.
Apparently, though, they've still got some work to do.
The Jets killed themselves with three second-half turnovers that directly led to 17 points, and Tom Brady carved them up for three touchdown passses as the Patriots won, 37-16, at MetLife Stadium.
New England (6-3) took over sole possession of first place in the AFC East and the Jets (5-4) slipped into a second-place tie with the Bills.
"Obviously, we wanted this game badly," a dejected Ryan said. "But you're not going to beat New England, you're not going to beat many teams when you make the mistakes that we made. We've been down this road before . . . It's disappointing."
Mark Sanchez threw two critical interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and also had a brain freeze right before halftime. The third-year quarterback called a timeout with 1:24 left just before he scored on a 2-yard keeper to give the Jets their lone lead at 9-6, leaving time for the Patriots to march down the field and answer with a touchdown with nine seconds left in the half.
Sanchez didn't get a whole lot of help on special teams, either. Joe McKnight muffed a punt and Nick Folk missed a 24-yard field goal, uncharacteristic mistakes that proved costly against a team that thrives on pouncing on the opposition after turnovers. The 37 points the Jets yielded were the most they've surrendered in a home game under Ryan.
"It's a disappointing loss," Sanchez said. "We would've liked to win and it would've set us up real well in the division. Unfortunately, one, I didn't play well enough for this offense to be successful and for us to win. Two turnovers like that, taking a couple of sacks is never good for our offense. We just didn't play well enough."
New England scored 10 points in a span off 5:11 in the third quarter, turning a four-point halftime lead into a 23-9 bulge with 4:44 left in the third.
Plaxico Burress ' 7-yard touchdown catch with 14:55 left brought the Jets within 23-16. But Brady's 8-yard touchdown pass to Deion Branch with 8:04 left finished off a 13-play, 84-yard drive for a 30-16 lead and sent plenty of fans scurrying for the exits. Nineteen seconds later, linebacker Rob Ninkovich 's 12-yard pick-six gave New England a 21-point advantage.
Brady completed 26 of 39 passes for 329 yards and three TDs and was not intercepted. Sanchez was 20-for-39 for 306 yards, with one TD and two picks.
"It was a big game for us," said running back LaDainian Tomlinson , who suffered a leg injury in the fourth quarter and is scheduled to have an MRI Monday. "We put everything into it. It was a lot on the line, and to not win the game obviously is a setback."
Trailing 13-9 early in the third quarter, the Jets began self-destructing. McKnight muffed a punt and the Patriots' Niko Koutouvides recovered at the Jets' 13-yard line. The Jets caught a break when Rob Gronkowski 's 14-yard touchdown catch was overturned because the big tight end stepped out of bounds before he made the reception. But Stephen Gostkowski 's 27-yard field goal extended the Pats' edge to 16-9 with 9:55 left in the third, a lead that grew minutes later after another critical error by the Jets.
Sanchez's pass on first-and-10 caromed off Shonn Greene 's hands and Ninkovich corralled it, returning it to the Patriots' 43. Eight plays later, Brady hooked up with Gronkowski for a 5-yard touchdown pass, punctuating a 57-yard drive that put the Jets in a 23-9 hole with 4:44 left in the third.
"You can't make the mistakes that we made and beat that team," safety Jim Leonhard said.
Particularly the type of gaffe Sanchez made at the end of the first half. With Jeremy Kerley out and riding a stationary bike after getting banged up on a punt return earlier in the second quarter, Patrick Turner 's 22-yard reception set up a first-and-goal at the 10 for the Jets.
After hearing coaches discuss the possibility of calling a timeout in his headset to discuss the play, Sanchez immediately went to referee Gene Steratore and asked for one before a second-and-goal with 1:24 left in the half.
"I can't do that," Sanchez said. "There was probably at least 20 seconds on the play clock, so it would have probably put it under a minute and it would just make it tougher. Could he still go down and score? Absolutely. But it just makes it tougher. If they don't score, even if they get a field goal, it could've helped, and I can't put our defense in that position. I've just got to be better than that."
Sanchez ran it in on third-and-goal from the 2, finishing off a seven-play, 65-yard drive with 1:20 left in the half and giving the Jets a 9-6 advantage.
Turns out that was more than enough time for Brady to knife through the Jets' defense. The Patriots' drive was aided by yet another silly mistake on Eric Smith . The safety was flagged for a 15-yard facemask penalty that gave the Patriots the ball at the Jets' 16, and Brady fired a strike to Gronkowski for an 18-yard score three plays later, pushing the Patriots in front 13-9 with nine seconds left in the half.
Then the Jets were outscored 24-7 in the final 30 minutes. They watched their chances to be the division's frontrunner and creep closer to their first AFC East crown since 2002 slowly fade away.
"It's tough because this, really for the first time in the last three years since Rex has been here, it's right there," Leonhard said. "If we win this game, we have kind of a stranglehold on the division, and you let it slide. Obviously, there is a lot of frustration. It was a big goal of ours, to go ahead and win the division, and we put ourselves in a hole again. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it's unlikely to happen at this point."
Said Ryan: "It looks doubtful. What am I going to say? Maybe I should guarantee the fact that we're out of it. The last time I did that, we made the playoffs. Yeah, we don't have a chance."
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