Brady says knee better than last Monday

Ben Roethlisberger, with 11 wins, has the second-most among active players, and Big Ben isn’t getting any younger or healthier.

As far as yards allowed go, the Jets yielded 377 total yards on 72 plays, which equals out to an average of 5.2 yards per play.

Victory: Tom Brady led the Patriots to a comeback win over the Jets.

Trailing 17-16 with two minutes to play, Brady hit Malcolm Mitchell on a quick out to the outside for a touchdown to put the Patriots up 22-17 with 1:56 to play. Hogan talked later about wanting to play harder after seeing that Brady is not 100 percent – and even Brady, usually so careful not to let on about a physical ailment, did not dismiss it this time.

New England tight end Rob Gronkowski left the game late in the first quarter with a back injury. The second-most important player on the Patriots – maybe the second-most important offensive player in the AFC – already had meandered around the tunnel outside the press conference room, dressed in gray sweats, white athletic socks and black loafers, the picture of a player who probably shouldn’t have played at all. He’s been playing on a sore right knee since the Seattle game, and the injury’s response to treatment was slow enough to force him to miss practice twice this past week. Players like Revis and Fitzpatrick need to be benched in favor of others.

Ryan completed 26-of-34 passes for 269 yards, and the Falcons maintained their hold on first place in the NFC South. Julian Edelman had more catches and yards, but Mitchell seemed more clutch. The drive was capped by a 51-yard Nick Folk field goal that not only split the uprights but hit halfway up the netting behind the goal post. He failed to reverse direction with Mitchell in the back of the end zone on the first score and was several yards to the right of Mitchell as he caught the second touchdown.

Brady is still the straw that stirs the drink. There were New York’s six-point win last December and a seven-point Patriots win (30-23) in the first meeting last season. And when it mattered, Brady did what he had to do to win and Fitzpatrick did not. “We didn’t play as well as we wanted to but we made the plays when we needed to”.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick knew that kicker Stephen Gostkowski had drilled a 41-yard field goal with 7:06 left that cut the Jets’ lead to 17-16.

Meanwhile, New York’s offense continued to move the ball down field on Matt Patricia’s defense. “He’s given up more plays this year than in the past, but you’ve gotta have a lot of respect for his style and his game”. The two-touchdown performance of Malcolm Mitchell was the result of a dynamic rookie running riot over an aging Darrelle Revis, who looked a shadow of his former self.

The Patriots finally got on the board on a 28-yard field goal just over three minutes into the second quarter. It was fourth and four at the Jet 37.

The Jets may be (almost officially) out of the playoff race, but this game can be indicative of how the rest of the season plays out.

Belichick chose go, with Gostkowski looking on with a pained look on his face.

Brady turned the fourth down into a dish off to James White, who fought for the first down.

Officials originally ruled Enunwa caught the ball out of bounds, but the Jets challenged, and the replay showed his backside landed in the corner of the end zone. And on the Jets’ final possession, Chris Long made a huge play to force a fumble by Fitzpatrick that sealed the victory. According to Pro Football Focus’ Nathan Jahnke, Rex Burkhead played 38 snaps to Hill’s 37.

It didn’t seal the game, but it practically did.

Revis and the Jets defense could not stop it.

Gronkowski had no catches when he left. Yet by the time he was done he had connected on 30 of 50 passes for two touchdowns to Mitchell to tie Peyton Manning as the all-time National Football League winning quarterback. “It really is true – Tom makes us all better”. But, because of the two touchdowns, he yielded a passer rating of 140.4.

Enunwa on how the Jets will handle this defeat.

Their stars carried them to a lead against the mighty Patriots.

As Belichick said several times in his postgame comments, it’s a division win on the road.