Pats’ blunder helps Jets win in OT, 26-20

This is Bowles’ method.

He saves his biggest bite, his meatiest view for his players. Maybe the Patriots concocted an elaborate ruse in the 10 minutes before they opened the postgame locker room to reporters, instructing their players to insist their coach wanted Brady on the bench at the start of overtime in an opponent’s stadium. “He stressed to us how important it was to develop that”. “I think that’s a mistake”. Rodgers should have been resting on the sideline, yet for some odd reason he still was in the game with the Packers trailing by 30 late in the third quarter. The former acquired the three big stars in Sunday’s game: Fitzpatrick, receiver Brandon Marshall, and cornerback Darrelle Revis. But the Patriots (12-3) rallied, scoring a defensive touchdown and then tying the game 20-20 with 1:55 left to play on a 9-yard touchdown from Tom Brady to James White that came after the Patriots converted a fourth-and-9. The Jets got the football first and won with an opening-drive touchdown. Up to see how the rest of the weekend plays out how the patriots play it in the air final week of preparation what preparations that is for.

The Jets employed a running-back-by-committee strategy that was remarkably effective against the Patriots. The Jets receivers outfoxed the Patriots coverage. We just didn’t make enough plays to score enough points.

The Jets look ready for anything.

It all fell in the Jets favor here on Sunday. It may of hit them hard but they will still be able to bounce back. It is one of the reasons that they have remained successful in their 2015 season. It beat up a Patriots offense that scored only 13 points Sunday, and energized a sometimes-deafening stadium. Injuries have taken so much of a toll that the Patriots took measured chances that even surprised their opponent.

Eric Decker’s 6-yard touchdown catch from Ryan Fitzpatrick on the first drive of overtime – after New England chose to kick off – lifted the Jets to a 26-20 victory Sunday that put NY in position to make the playoffs.

Championship Mettle: Whatever the story is behind the coin toss, it doesn’t matter.

Green Bay vs. Seattle – The Packers clearly would prefer to win the NFC North and have a home game, especially against a team they beat back in Week 2.

That’s how you end up kicking the ball away in overtime on the road against a hated division rival. New England is still in control of the No. 1 seed and Belichick coached like he just wanted to get out of here without anybody else getting hurt.

Maybe Belichick did want to kick.

“I double-checked three or four times”, said Slater.

Marshall declined to say what McDaniels told him.

So what was it? Patriots coach Bill Belichick (BeliKICK?) said there was “no confusion” on the call; he’d done it once before in 2013, but a hefty wind was involved against Denver. Of course, it would have been had the Patriots stopped the Jets offense, forced a punt, blocked it or returned it to set up a winning field goal. Over their five-game win streak, the Jets have limited opponents to a 21.5 percent conversion rate, the lowest in the National Football League for that period. It was the one thing the Patriots defense could not let happen.

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski succinctly summarized: “You always want a shot to score”. So, when they won it (the coin toss), my first reaction was “Stop them”.

Belichick made the curious decision to kick off in overtime after winning the coin toss. But like I said, I don’t think we’ve ever used those excuses, and we had opportunities to win this game. “It’s a insane circumstance – that’s what it’s going to come down to in Buffalo”. If the season ended today, here’s how it would look (before Sunday and Monday night games).

Win in Buffalo and they’re in. The Bills are 7-8 with nothing to play for except spoiling the Jets season, and you can bet there is nothing Ryan would rather do. Other Jets have connections there. The 49ers (4-11) have lost three straight and five of six under first-year coach Jim Tomsula. Ryan would love making the Jets that kind of company. Referee Clete Blakeman took that to mean that the Jets would receive the kickoff, which is what happened. It’s not about that.