NFL Thursday Night Football: Patriots squeak past Jets on final play

The Jets were the first team to rush for over 100 yards in just the first half against the Patriots, in their home stadium. Chris Ivory was a monster in between the tackles, setting the pace for well-timed throws from Geno Smith.

Although the first several drives resulted in field goals for New York, they were winning the line of scrimmage and controlling the clock. A large portion of the Patriots points had come from a few quick passes at the start of the game when the Jets were caught on a blown coverage.

Although the Jets took the lead in the beginning of the third quarter, it wouldn't last too long. Tom Brady did Tom Brady things as he engineered two scoring drives over the next twenty minutes, putting up 10 points to make the game 27-19. The touchdown was a third and very long.

The pressure would be on Geno Smith, in primetime, and in a hostile environment. Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to do it alone. The running game, with a nice pace-change courtesy of Chris Johnson, continued to move the ball down the field well. Geno hit Kerley on a quick slant for his first catch of the night with under seven minutes to go, and had a very nice heads-up run on a 3rd and 3.

A beautiful, tight-window pass to Jeff Cumberland would go on to highlight the 86 yard touchdown drive, though the ensuing 2-point conversion was unsuccessful. Despite an excellent onside kick, New England recovered.

New York would get the ball one more time with a bit over a minutes to go, but the Patriots defense would hold off the visiting Jets by blocking a Nick Folk 58-yard field goal attempt to end the game.

Final score: New England Patriots 27, New York Jets 25