The New England Patriots defeated the New York Jets 26-19 in Week 6 of the NFL season. The Patriots advance to 4-2 while the Jets drop to 2-4. New England is also notably now 2-0 on divisional games this season.
It was a good win over a team with a tough defense, but it is reasonable to say the Patriots should have had a more comfortable margin of victory. The biggest reason for that is the play of wide receiver A.J. Brown.
In the new Patriots’ receiver’s first game since Sept. 9, he could not have had a worse performance. Brown hauled in just three of his 10 targets for 27 yards. He is credited with having dropped four separate passes.
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Pivotal plays
One of those was a would-be touchdown, another a deep ball down the sideline, and the others a pair of drops on third and fourth down. Brown was on the onside kick team with :32 remaining in the fourth quarter when he fumbled an easy recovery. Fortunately, the ball was recovered by fellow wideout DeMario Douglas.
Had Brown converted on at least half of those important plays, New England could have rolled to victory. Instead, they went down to the wire with New York in a divisional matchup.
In the postgame press conference, Vrabel said that Brown “can probably make a few more plays.” The two worked together in Tennessee for three seasons, so it stands to reason that they will find some success after this blemish.
Looking ahead
The Patriots (4-2) will next make the trip on a short week to face the Chicago Bears (4-2) on Thursday Night Football. With all the injuries they have, the short week could not have come at a worse time.
On the bright side, Brown had no problem finding open space in the defense against the Jets. Even with his hands struggles, quarterback Drake Maye was surgical through the air, throwing for 235 yards and three touchdowns.
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