Position grades from the Patriots’ win over the Jets

They can’t all be blowouts, can they?

Coming off a convincing 45-17 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, the New England Patriots found themselves in a much more competitive game versus the New York Jets. A big reason for the game’s comparatively close nature was the Patriots’ own inability to play consistent football between turnovers, dropped passes and uneven run defense.

At the end of the day, they still managed to do enough to secure a 26-19 win and improve to 4-2 on the season. It wasn’t overly pretty, but it was still winning football at the end of the day.

Let’s take a look at the film and hand out some grades.

Patriots film review from NFL Week 6

Quarterback: The typically blitz-heavy Jets decided to alter their approach against Drake Maye, playing a less aggressive form of defense while simultaneously trying to contain him as best they could. They did a solid job, but at the end of the day New England’s quarterback was simply better. Maye delivered some good throws throughout the day, took what the defense gave him, showed some anticipation (see: 3rd-and-10 throw to Kyle Williams), made sound decisions, and once again played at a consistently high level both when throwing the ball and picking his spots to advance it with his legs. His 0.39 expected points added per play are a reflection of that. | Grade: A

Running back: Rhamondre Stevenson averaged only 2.6 yards per carry, but he did what he could: he forced four missed tackles and finished with 36 yards after contact on 36 total rushing yards. He also continued to do some good work as a pass protector, giving up one hurry in 11 reps. TreVeyon Henderson played a limited role after suffering an ankle sprain last week, but he mostly moved well and again showed that he is at his best when operating in space. He did lose a fumble, though, which might have contributed to Corey Kiner seeing some action late. Kiner hit the holes hard and kept the legs churning through contact. | Grade: A-

Wide receiver: The Patriots’ wide receiver group had a rollercoaster day. Romeo Doubs got open for a 42-yard touchdown on the second snap of the day, but suffered a game-ending shoulder injury along the way. DeMario Douglas led the team with seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, but he also lost a fumble when somewhat unnecessarily trying to turn a big play into an even bigger one. Kyle Williams caught just one pass, but it was a big one and showed he can do more than just run go routes. Efton Chism played the second-most snaps among the group but did not finish with any catches while also being uneven as a run blocker. And then, there was A.J. Brown. Making his return from a four-week stint on injured reserve, the veteran was rusty particularly as a finisher: he had two drops and multiple other close calls while catching only three passes for 27 yards. On the bright side, he did manage to get open a lot. Drake Maye targeting Brown 10 times was therefore not a case of force-feeding him; throwing to him was the right read more often than not. | Grade: C+

Tight end: Hunter Henry continues to be one of the most reliable players on the Patriots’ roster, especially as a receiver. He showed good wiggle on a 16-yard catch-and-run on the final drive of the first half, and was able to get wide open on his 7-yard touchdown catch. His run blocking was not quite as consistent (one stuff, one penalty). Eli Raridon also had his ups and downs. He did make a nice adjustment on an 11-yard catch in the third quarter, but could have held onto a touchdown in the late second; he also was at the point of attack on a pair of stuffed runs, but performed well as a move blocker. The same is true for Cameron Latu. | Grade: B+

Offensive line: Even though it lost three starters due to injury during the game, the Patriots offensive line generally played at a high level against a defense that had averaged 3.4 sacks per game coming in. Drake Maye was kept clean for much of the day, with the Jets taking him down not even once. Then, late in the game, the unit — using third-string left guard Walter Rouse and fourth-string right guard Matt Pryor — asserted its will in the run game: the group controlled the line of scrimmage, allowing Corey Kiner to keep advancing the ball on eight straight plays. That said, the performance had its moments but was not consistent, especially on the interior. Run blocking was a concern even before the injuries, and both Rouse and center Jared Wilson had a few bad reps between them down the stretch. On the bright side, Will Campbell played some quality football despite nursing a knee injury, while Caleb Lomu mostly performed well after entering for an injured Morgan Moses. With Campbell and Lomu in the fold, the future seems bright at that position for New England. | Grade: B+

Defensive line: The Jets were able to create some movement on the line of scrimmage, and exploit New England’s defense for multiple long runs. Looking at the film, however, it appeared to be less of a performance issue and more of New York doing its homework and being able to use Zak Kuhr’s aggressive approach against him and his defense. There were still problems with misplacement and disengagement, but the Patriots’ talent up front also shone through on multiple occasions. That included Milton Williams and Christian Barmore registering back-to-back sacks — the second featuring a dominant bull-rushing rep from Barmore — while rotational backups Cory Durden, DaQuan Jones and Leonard Taylor had some good moments too. The edge trio of Elijah Ponder, Gabe Jacas and Dre’Mont Jones also continued to be disruptive. Jones was at his best setting an edge in the run game, but was a bit more quiet as a pass rusher. Ponder and Jacas flashed their varied skillsets on multiple reps. | Grade: B

Linebacker: Robert Spillane continues to be the glue that holds the operation together, and one of the most impactful players on the Patriots roster. His run stuff on 4th-and-2 in the early second quarter against a charging Braelon Allen was an impressive display of his ability to hunker down and hold the line. He also was effective as a run blitzer on multiple occasion. He finished the game with three run stuffs, compared to two by his running mate Christian Elliss. They both had missed tackles as well, and also contributed to the Jets finding success with their turning-the-aggressiveness-against-the-defense plan, but on the whole had a quality outing. | Grade: A–

Cornerback: Christian Gonzalez did give up four catches for 45 yards on the day, but only two of those for 20 combined yards came against the Jets’ top receiver. Going up against Garrett Wilson on 17 reps, the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback more than held his own and forced quarterback Geno Smith to look away from his favorite target repeatedly. Another good outing against a top-tier player. Elsewhere at cornerback, Marcus Jones had a very good day in the office playing both outside and in the slot; he allowed just two passes to be completed to his part of the field. Charles Woods, who again filled in for Carlton Davis as a perimeter corner opposite Gonzalez, looked as good as you would expect a backup to look: there were some hiccups staying with his responsibilities out of bunch formations, but he mostly was well-positioned including on his interception — a play that allowed him to dust off the old receiver skills. | Grade: A

Safety: Kevin Byard and Craig Woodson had some good moments, including an impressive pass breakup by Byard on a throw intended for Mason Taylor. However, there also were some breakdowns — none bigger than Omar Cooper Jr’s 48-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The Patriots used zone on the play, but there appeared to be a miscommunication between the safeties. Woodson rotated down to help defend any crossers in a Cover 3-style assignment, which would have left Byard to defend anything going over the top. However, Byard widened when Cooper charged through them as if playing split-field. Ultimately, neither he nor Woodson were able to make up the ground to defend the play. Byard also missed three tackles on the day, and was flagged for defensive pass interference in the fourth quarter. Woodson was steadier as a whole, but also wasn’t regularly tested deep. | Grade: C

Special teams: Mike Vrabel praised the Patriots’ kickoff unit immediately after the game, and for good reason. The Jets didn’t create much movement running backs kicks, while New England had some good runbacks, especially Corey Kiner’s 37-yarder out to the 40 to set the stage for the time-consuming field goal drive in the late fourth quarter. Marcus Jones gained 10 yards on his lone punt return, while Mitch Wishnowsky’s 54-yard kick in the second quarter was his best since joining the club. The only blemish was Andy Borregales sending an extra point wide to the left early in the fourth quarter, his third total miss this year. | Grade: A–

How would you grade the Patriots’ performance against the Jets? Do you agree with our assessment? Please head down to the comment section to discuss with the rest of the community.