There are few certainties in life anymore except the fact that the Jets (0-2) will be a doormat for the rest of eternity. The Patriots (1-1) were the lucky team that got to face New York this afternoon at MetLife Stadium. After a decent debut last week in a 19-14 loss at the Panthers (2-0), Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson-the No. 2 pick in the draft-was a complete disaster as he threw interceptions on his first two pass attempts and ended up with four interceptions for the game as New England cruised to an easy 25-6 win.
It was not pretty but Pats rookie quarterback Mac Jones (22-of-30 for 186 yards) didn't turn the ball over. The Patriots' defense added four sacks of Wilson while running back James White ran for a seven-yard touchdown and running back Damien Harris had the play of the game with a 26-yard TD run early in the third quarter (that made it 19-3 Pats) where he carried a host of Jets into the end zone before receiving a final push over the goal line by Jones and his offensive linemen. Pats kicker Nick Folk missed a PAT but nobody will remember that since he hit four field goals (46, 49, 32, 26).
If you are looking for troubling trends two games into the season with the Patriots, their offensive line is a bit of a mess (Jones got sacked three times) with right tackle Trent Brown out with a calf injury, their run defense stinks (they allowed 152 yards to New York) and their red zone offense leaves something to be desired. Still, Buffalo (1-1) destroyed Miami (1-1) 35-0 this afternoon meaning that three AFC East teams are all 1-1 while the Jets fittingly are alone in the basement. The Bills figure to pull away from the Dolphins and Patriots at some point later this season while New York will probably be one of the worst teams in the NFL yet again.
It was a good day to have New England's defense in fantasy football as cornerback J.C. Jackson had a pair of interceptions while safeties Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips also added picks and linebacker Josh Uche sacked Wilson twice. It was one of those situations where you could wonder if the Pats defense was that stout or if they simply took advantage of some awful mistakes by Wilson? This was never really that competitive as the visitors led 10-0 after the first quarter and 13-3 at halftime then 22-3 after three quarters. Time will tell who has the better NFL career-Jones or Wilson-but it is ironic that Jones' first NFL victory came at the expense of another highly-touted rookie in his draft class.
Next Sunday afternoon (1, FOX), the Pats return to Gillette Stadium where they will try to get their first home win of 2021 against the Saints (1-1). After embarassing the Packers 38-3 in Week 1 behind five touchdown passes from mercurial quarterback Jameis Winston, New Orleans came crashing back to Earth this afternoon with a 26-7 loss at Carolina. The Saints still have a bunch of great players and head coach Sean Payton is regarded as one of the best in the league so the Pats should have their hands full trying to get another win.
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