Four studs and three duds from New England’s 22-17 win

Studs

Nick Folk

The former Jet Nick Folk scored 15 of 22 Patriots points on Sunday in their 22-17 win. Folk came into Week 8 with two of four on-field goal attempts from 40+ yards. However, against the Jets, he made all four attempts from 40+, including a 42, 45, 49, and a season-high 52-yard field goal. New England is lucky to have a kicker as consistent as Folk with their struggling offense.

Matthew Judon

Edge rusher Matthew Judon continues to find a way to disrupt opposing offenses. Although he didn’t earn a sack on Sunday, he was constantly applying pressure on Zach Wilson. Judon still has a league-high 8.5 sacks, and he introduced a new stat, “the boogie oogie.” The boogie oogie is when the defender forces the quarterback to make an errant throw instead of sacking him. Judon said after the game, “We continued to put him under pressure and kept him under duress. We couldn’t get him on the ground, but we could get in the backfield and boogie him so he would have some errant throws.”

Rhamondre Stevenson

Second-year back, Rhamondre Stevenson continued to dominate, as he was the leading rusher and receiver for the offense. Bill Belichick said postgame, “Stevenson is just a tremendous back; he makes a lot of yards on his own, making solid yards after contact.” Since Damien Harris injured his hamstring in Week 5, Stevenson has led the running back room in snaps and continues to get a higher target share than Harris. This is significant since Harris’s contract is expiring after this season and is an option to get traded. Even Kendrick Bourne praised Stevenson, saying, “He’s just all around a great player…That’s what we need. To be versatile, having a pass catcher out of the backfield is so big. He’s reminding me of James White.”

Jakboi Meyers

Jakobi Meyers has shown he is the number-one receiver for the Patriots. Even with missing two games, Meyers leads the team in receptions (45) and yards (415). The other Patriots receivers combined for two receptions and 15 yards Sunday. Against the Jets, Meyers had nine receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown. New England is 4-0 in games he reaches 60 yards. The two games Meyers didnt play the patriots went 0-2. Meyers is going to get paid this off-season. The question is, will the Patriots pay enough to keep the wideout around?

Duds

Entire offensive line

The entire offensive line struggled against a strong New York front allowing a season-high six sacks. Isaiah Wynn returned to action after missing the game Monday Night but seemingly was benched. This wasn’t the first time Wynn has been benched this season. Additionally, rookie guard Cole Strange had his worst game yet. He was penalized twice for holding and allowed a sack. With veteran David Andrews out, backup center James Ferentz had problems against Quinnen Williams, who consistently was in the backfield. Mac Jones’s interception was tipped at the line, and with better coverage, it would have resulted in a completion. The outlier here is guard Micheal Onwenu who did his best to keep Mac clean.

Mac Jones

The sophomore quarterback hasn’t had the start he envisioned for 2022. He led the Patriots to a 1-2 record before getting hurt at the end of the game in Week 3. He played his first complete game this Sunday, and it didn’t the way he hoped. His performance consisted of completing 24 of 35 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown with an interception. However, he could have had at least two more interceptions, one of which would have resulted in a touchdown. If John Franklin-Myers didm’t get called for roughing the passer the Jets would have led by a score of 17-3. Jones is throwing an interception on 5.3% of his dropbacks, the worst in the league, and is trending toward the bottom of the league in many metrics.

Redzone opportunities

The Patriots continue their awful streak of not scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. New England has now gone ten consecutive first quarters without scoring a touchdown. Over the span, the Patriots have only scored 12 points. The offensive struggles can be heavily attributed to these slow starts. That needs to be fixed.