Making sense of the Patriot's 29-26 win over the Jets

The Patriots squeaked past the Jets last night 29-26 in a thrilling game that had a little bit of everything. Patriots fans were left on the edge of their seats as the secondary leaked like the Titanic post-iceberg, and the offence struggled to do anything right for long periods. The win did come, eventually, and Patriot nation exhaled. Whilst no one is jumping into the Charles this morning, the warning signs are there that the natives are restless. There was plenty of base, knuckle-dragging ‘booing’ throughout the night in New England. Once again, we are reminded, the ridiculous 2007 season ruined the expectations of Patriots fans World wide

 One thing you really have to understand and grasp onto as a Patriots fan is that you can’t win every single game 52-21.

Before 2007/2008 the Patriots were a blue collar, hardworking team  that managed to find ways to win close games. They were not generally a team that blew you out. They did the little things, they ‘did their job’ as the mantra goes. Just one season of blowing the doors of all comers right up to the Superbowl, and it would appear many Patriots fans have not adjusted as yet to winning games by a field goal, or indeed less.


Well, it is time to take stock of last night’s result and frankly, apart from that awful secondary, most of the analysis should trend on the positive side.

The Patriots sit top of the AFC East on a 4-3 record, having just beaten a fierce divisional rival. Make no mistake, Rex Ryan has not been lying all these years, the games against New England are indeed the Superbowl for the Jets. Ryan says it all the time, and you can see it from how his players conduct themselves. The two games against the Patriots are the Jets two biggest games every season. This means New England have to weather the storm of someone who is trying that little bit harder to beat you.

Last night? Job done. Storm weathered.

The 4-3 record is misleading, it may seem very ordinary, however on closer analysis, the Patriots have probably achieved more than their record describes. Take their three losses first. Those three ‘L’s were by a combined four points. No, seriously, look it up. That’s sensational, and means that the Patriots have, to some extent, been a little unlucky. Those teams that beat the Patriots by those combined four points are 17-12 against all their other opponents, in other words, they are above decent.

The wins have been pretty impressive. The improving Titans were hammered by 21 points. The Bills were annihilated after a slow start. The broncos scored a few in complete-garbage time to make the score look closer than it was.

The Jets? The Patriots found a way to beat them, in that old-fashioned Patriots way their fans used to be so used to.



If you find yourself, as a New England fan, worried that your team didn’t win 65-0 last night, a couple of tips.

First, calm down, and don’t be an idiot. Nobody likes self-entitled sports fans. Just ask anyone what they think of those moaning, whining Red Sox fans that are in abundance right now. The Patriots will win more than they lose, calm down.

Second, enjoy it! It’s kind of nice to see the Patriots working hard in all aspects of the game to scrape out a win, like their 2001, 2003 and 2004 clubs. Instead of letting Brady hock it up to Randy Moss every couple of plays, New England are utilising their entire roster, and it is refreshing to see.

A win is a win is a win.

Enjoy it, in the NFL they are hard to come by.


Just ask the Jets.

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