Beating the Patriots was going to take something close to a flawless game from the Jets.
They haven’t gotten it. Four first half turnovers have become 28 Patriots points and New England leads 28-0 with about eight minutes to play in the first half at the Meadowlands. The last three Jets turnovers came in quick succession, as did the touchdowns that followed. On a fourth-and-one in New England territory in the second quarter, Shonn Greene ran into the line, got stuffed and ultimately stripped as he reached for the first down. Safety Steve Gregory recovered the fumble and the Patriots scored on an 83-yard touchown catch-and-run by Shane Vereen on the next play.
The Jets turned the ball over three plays after that when Mark Sanchez tried to run on what looked like a busted play. He ran directly into the ample backside of right guard Brandon Moore, fumbled and Gregory returned it 32 yards for a score. Joe McKnight would fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Julian Edelman recovered and extended the lead to 28 when he strolled into the end zone. That was three touchdowns in 52 seconds and the game is pretty close to getting out of hand.
Sanchez got the fun started with an interception near the end of the first quarter. Gregory, who has been very busy, picked off a pass that could have been intended for two different receivers and came close to neither. The Pats wound up scoring six seconds into the second quarter on a three-yard pass to Wes Welker.
The good news for the Jets is that we’ve been taught twice today that big leads can disappear quickly. The bad news is that they look totally overmatched thus far.