Here’s how PFF graded out the Patriots for their win over the Jets. Kinda surprising that some of these rankings are so low, but clearly the “horizontal passing attack” is working as well or better than the 2007 vertical attack.
Patriots: Three performances of note
In a 42-point game, it’s ridiculous to suggest that one man was the difference between the two teams. However, Tom Brady (+4.1) was pretty close to being just that. Here’s your stat of the night: On passes within ten yards of the line of scrimmage, Brady was 17 of 17 for 244 yards and four touchdowns. Even when under pressure Brady was able to complete 8 of 9 for 109 yards. He’s the best short passer in the game right now.
When the Patriots first signed Danny Woodhead (+2.9), many suggested it was just to pick his brains for the Week 2 showdown (for which he was inactive). Since then, Woodhead’s role has expanded and, although he only rushed for 11 yards on Monday, 50 of his game-high 104 receiving yards came on a shovel pass that was, for all intents and purposes, a running play. That isn’t all he brought to the table, though, as he blocked well and added a special teams tackle for good measure.
A game where you win by 42 points would seem to be a strange time to have (by some margin), your worst game of the season. However, that’s exactly what happened to Dan Connolly (-4.6)and Matt Light (-4.1). Connolly gave up a sack, a hit and two pressures, although this – as noted above – had little effect on Brady’s performance. The Patriots also gained just 21 yards – 16 of which were after contact – on eight runs between center and right guard. Light allowed two sacks.
Rookie report
Although they held the Jets to just three points, Brandon Spikes (+2.1) was actually the only defensive player with a rating above 0.6 as many of the Jets’ offensive wounds were self-inflicted. Spikes had seven tackles and an interception. … Jermaine Cunningham (-1.9) graded poorly despite recording five stops, a hit and a pressure. … Devin McCourty (0.1) had another interception, but also had a missed tackle. … Rob Gronkowski (+2.1) and Aaron Hernandez (+1.6) were great again.