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ReFo: Jets @ Patriots, Week 7

2014-REFO-WK07-NYJ@NEAfter a slow start, Thursday Night Football is really starting to heat up. First courtesy of the Colts' thrilling victory over Houston, and this week as a result of the New England Patriots nail-biting win against the New York Jets.

A match that, on paper, had some expecting a blowout proved extremely close, with the difference in the two teams the Patriots' ability to convert their scoring opportunities into touchdowns, while the Jets too often settled for field goals. Such are the margins in the NFL that it is that defines why one team wins, and why team loses.

Let’s take a look at some of the key performances.

New York Jets – Performances of Note

Chris Ivory, RB: +2.2

Breakdown: 107 yards on 21 carries would seem like a great day for the offensive line. But in truth it owed an awful lot to Ivory who wasn’t bruising through defenders, but making them pay for over comitting inside as the Jets misdirection brought the worst out of the Patriots in run defense.

Signature Stat: 55 of his 107 yards came after contact.

Muhammad Wilkerson, DE: +4.1

Breakdown: While the sack numbers were there last year, we felt Wilkerson had taken a little step backwards after his breakout 2012. This year? He’s right back to his best with a string of consistently impressive performances. He was a menace rushing the passer in this one, with his three hits ensuring Tom Brady will feel sore this morning.

Signature Play: With 7.58 to go in the game Wilkerson breezes past the outside shoulder of Jordan Devey to pick up his third hit of the day.

Obay Aboushi, LG: -2.4

Breakdown: Is the future at left guard Aboushi? At this stage it’s too early to tell, but they’ll be mildly encouraged that after a terrible first quarter he settled down somewhat. That said, he still got beat too much in pass protection and he’ll need to rectify that.

Signature Play: Perhaps the most costly play of the game. He’s late reacting to the blitz of Dont’a Hightower and a result is forced to hold, resulting in a touchdown being wiped off the board with 8.47 to go in Q1.

New England Patriots – Performances of Note

Tom Brady, QB: +2.6

Breakdown: Efficient. Brady faced pressure on 16 drop-backs and while he did at times look a little rattled in the second half, he made enough plays to keep the chains moving and avoided turning the ball over. While Sam Monson may not appreciate it, reports of his demise may be premature with this Brady’s fifth grade in the green of the season.

Signature Stat: The box score will tell you Brady completed 54% of passes. Yuck, terrible game. It won’t tell you he had four throwaways, one batted pass and four dropped passes. Factor all that magic in and you get an actual adjusted Accuracy Percentage of 77.4%.

Jordan Devey, LG: -6.4

Breakdown: A couple of penalties never look good on the stat sheet, but it was the ease at which Devey was beaten in pass protection that explains this grade. The Patriots either need to get him more help or continue to expect their quarterback to take a beating, with Devey responsible for three hits.

Signature Stat: Gave up five quarterback disruptions. Rest of the line would give up six.

Patrick Chung, S: +2.5

Breakdown: Chung had one of those games that frustrates. So very good for most of it, but was beaten twice in coverage at crucial times. Still how about that work he did before Jeff Cumberland scored six on him? Active coming up to support the run game he ended up with four defensive stops and added a hit on one his two occasions rushing the passer.

Signature Stat: It may have surprised some to see Chung installed as starter, but he’s graded positively in all bar two of his games (with the lowest grade a -0.8).

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A close run thing, but in the end Chris Ivory had the biggest impact on this game.

 

Follow Khaled on Twitter: @PFF_Khaled

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