Five thoughts on the Patriots uninspiring Week 6 victory over the Jets

The Corey Kiner drive

Kiner put the Jets to rest with eight straight carries on New England’s final drive. Runs of 12 and eight yards during the sequence helped chew away over six minutes before Andy Borregales made it a two-score game with a 27-yard field goal.

New England acquired the third-string running back in an August trade with the Arizona Cardinals. He made the roster over Hassan Haskins, who went to Arizona in that summer transaction.

“It just showed me that they believe in me,” Kiner said. “They’re going to continue to give me opportunities to put my best foot forward. Like I mentioned last week, the guys rallied behind me. I just wanted to rally behind the guys this week.” 

Henderson was on the injury report all week with an ankle injury that knocked him out of the Raiders game last week. His fumble, which led to a 36-yard field goal by Jason Sanders and cut the deficit to 17-13, all but forced him to the sideline on Sunday.

Stevenson had just six touches in the second half and didn’t provide much spark with 36 yards on 14 carries.

“That last drive running the football, you all got the best seat in the house,” Maye said. “It was beautiful to see. I think the more we can do that, the more we can just gel together as offense and lean on that.”

“I’m glad [Kiner] got a chance to get his opportunity – I’ve been telling him that his time is coming,” Henderson said. “So, I was grateful to see that today, to be able to support and serve him.”

Offensive line shuffle

The Patriots didn’t have any available offensive linemen on the bench at the end of this one. 

Morgan Moses (ankle), Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) and Ben Brown (right knee) were all downgraded to out over the course of the second half. Caleb Lomu came on at right tackle for Moses while Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse filled in at the guard spots for Vera-Tucker and Brown. 

“It just shows the group that we have,” Lomu said. “Everyone is ready to go when something does happen. You never want to see those injuries.” 

Jared Wilson and Will Campbell were the only two starters from Week 1 who closed this game up front. Mike Onwenu suffered a serious right leg injury in the home opener against the Steelers, cracking the door for changes on the right side. Veteran option Greg Van Roten also landed on injured reserve with a thigh issue and wasn’t available Sunday. 

“Communication is the biggest thing – especially out on the field,” Lomu said. “Make sure you’re communicating with the guy next to you. Know your assignment.” 

Campbell was on the injury report this week with a right knee issue but was able to play the full 60 minutes in this one. He said at the podium he would also be ready for the short week and a Thursday night kick in Chicago. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel didn’t have updates on whether or not Moses, Vera-Tucker or Brown could recover in time to battle the Bears. 

“It’s a short week,” Vrabel said. “And if you don’t finish the game, that’s a quick turnaround.” 

Fourth-down stops

New England’s defense woke up after the first drive of the game. Sanders made the first of his four field goals and then the Patriots forced a punt and two turnover-on-downs in the second quarter to surge to a 10-7 lead in the frame.

Robert Spillane made the first play – holding Braelon Allen to a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-2 on the Patriots’ 29.

“My job is to tackle the ball short of the line,” Spillane said. “Our defensive line did a great job occupying all the gaps, which leaves it a one-on-one tackle at the back, and we were able to get off the field. Those plays are huge for us. I’m just proud of the defense, how we stayed together. They got some momentum there late, and we were able to finish the game.”

Gabe Jacas and Christian Elliss clipped Geno Smith on fourth down on the ensuing Jets’ possession. The failed quarterback sneak, at nearly the identical spot that Spillane made his stop, helped New England shut the Jets out in the second quarter.

“The front seven, they did that,” Christian Gonzalez said. “They did that, got us off the field and got the ball back to the offense - it is a turnover. It’s just another way to get the ball back to our offense. You get one of those stops where they’re at in the field after they’re driving a little bit, it gets the stadium going, gets the energy back on our side.”

AJ Brown returns, Doubs leaves

Brown looked like he hadn’t played a full football game since January. He had a handful of drops over 10 targets and nearly gave the Jets a final possession after misplaying the onside kick.

He missed a touchdown on a deep ball from Maye, the same play that Moses got hurt, that eventually led to a punt.

“I didn’t play well,” Brown said. “I don’t know – if the timing was off. I’m much better than what I put on display today, there’s no excuses. I’ll be better.”

Doubs left for the game after hauling in a 42-yard touchdown on New England’s second drive. He landed hard on his shoulder, leaving just Brown and Pop Douglas at receiver. Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III each managed just one target as the Patriots went with two tight end sets for most of the game.

“I expect myself to make each and every one of those plays,” Brown said. “The drop, the other drop on third down, on the slant, I am more than capable of making those catches. I’ll be better, that’s all.”

Douglas had the biggest day with 86 yards on seven catches with a touchdown. He’s been more reliable, despite a poor fumble that led to points for the Jets, this season.

“I know that [Brown] wanted to do well for his football team, and unfortunately it wasn’t his best effort,” Vrabel said. “I know that he knows that, and we have all the confidence in the world in [Brown] just to be able to finish those plays. I think that play [Doubs] made looking back at it is one of the huge plays of his football game, and unfortunately he wasn’t able to return.”

Different kind of double score

Scoring on either side of halftime was something the Patriots seemed to patent under former coach Bill Belichick. This time New England crammed 10 points into the final 1:49 before the break. 

Borregales connected on a 32-yard field goal and Maye hit Douglas for a 9-yard touchdown to help the Patriots build a 17-3 cushion into the locker room. The Jets using timeouts on defense ultimately backfired – it gave New England an opportunity to find late points instead of New York, which went three-and-out before punting with 1:23 to play. 

“We have to be able to possess the ball more to go ahead and put stress on their defense to try to score points,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “On defense you’ve got to make sure you stop them when we get that opportunity.” 

Stevenson picked up a fourth down out by midfield and a third down at the Jets 42 to extend the first drive. Borregales was good toward the closed end of the stadium to make it a 10-3 game and the Patriots kicked off with all three of their timeouts. Smith stopped the clock twice with incomplete passes and Omar Cooper Jr. made a catch for just six yards on third down before New England stopped the clock with 1:29 to play. 

The Patriots moved quickly after taking over at their own 29. Maye hit for double-digit yards on four straight plays to the New York 19, and a penalty for roughing the passer brought the ball inside the 10. Maye bought time while moving to his right and Douglas eventually came free along the right side of the end zone. 

“I think we gifted two touchdowns that shouldn’t have happened,” Glenn said. “I’ve got to do a better job defensively getting our guys ready to play, and I’ve got to do a better job on offense to understand exactly what it’s going to take to get ready to finish.” 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Five thoughts on the Patriots uninspiring Week 6 victory over the Jets