The helpless Jets added to their embarrassment this afternoon as they lost to the New England Patriots, 3-16. This loss extended the Jets' losing streak to seven games - their longest since 1996, the season all Jets' fans would like to forget.
The Gang Green possessed the ball for just under five minutes in the first quarter and ended up punting on their both drives. The start of the second quarter wasn't much better, as the Jets punted on their first possession after gaining -7 yards (yes, that's minus seven). The Patriots, meanwhile, took the lead after they converted a 21-yard field goal attempt. That's when the Jets finally put up something that looked like a decent drive. First, QB Brooks Bollinger connected with TE Doug Jolley on a 15-yard pass and then added himself 12 yards on the ground, moving the Jets inside New England's territory. Three plays later Bollinger was sacked, fumbled, New England recovered, but luckily for the Jets both teams committed penalties and the down was to be replayed. The Jets were facing a 3rd and 5 on the Patriots' 20-yard line and Herman Edwards shamelessly decided to let RB Curtis Martin run a draw, basically giving up the third down attempt. Hello?! You play to win the game! Yeah, right! Martin ran for no gain and the Jets tied the score with a 38-yard field goal. The Patriots, however, instantly responded with a field goal of their own, making the score 6-3 right before the first half ended.
In the third quarter the Gang Green had the ball for just a little over four minutes, while the Patriots scored a touchdown on their only drive of the quarter, extending the lead to 13-3. At that point the game was basically over, as the painful to watch team from New York looked plain atrocious on both offense and defense.
QB Brooks Bollinger finished the game 15 of 37 for just 135 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT with a quarterback rating of 39.8. RB Curtis Martin, who despite of the obvious signs of slowing down keeps getting the ball, ran for 29 yards on 10 carries. Rookie RB Cedric Houston did not have a single carry. WR Laveranues Coles had the team-high 4 receptions for 35 yards.
On defense LB Jonathan Vilma led the team with 12 tackles (8 solo) and one forced fumble. S Erik Coleman also recorded 12 tackles (7 solo). DE John Abraham had one of the Jets' two sacks, DE Bryan Thomas and DT Dewayne Robertson shared the other. The Patriots gained 397 yards, which was their highest production in seven games.
Next week the New York Jets (2-10) will host the Oakland Raiders (4-7). The kickoff time is at 1:00 PM ET.