Week 7 New York Jets Team Grades

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

October 20^th, 2013

Week 7 New York Jets Team Grades

The New York Jets were able to pull off a great win against their division rival New England Patriots on Sunday in an overtime thriller. The win moves the Jets to (4-3) on the season, which keeps them right in the hunt for a Wild Card spot in the AFC.

Passing Grade (B)

The passing offense was pretty good for the Jets in this game led by Quarterback Geno Smith, who in his second game against the Patriots played much better than he in the Week 2 loss. Smith did have one major mistake in the first quarter, as he threw a pick six to Logan Ryan when the Jets were driving. Smith did bounce back from his first quarter woes and finished with a nice game throwing for 233 yards on 17 for 33 passing with a touchdown. The Jets receivers did a good job in this game despite being short handed without Winslow and Holmes, as Jeremy Kerley had a fantastic game catching eight passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. David Nelson made the most of his opportunity to play more, as he caught four passes for 80 yards.

Rushing Offense (A)

The ground and pound appeared to be back in this game, which is something different than we’ve seen so far this season, but it allowed the Jets to keep Brady off the field and have the Jets double them in time of possession. Chris Ivory was the workhorse for the Jets in the victory, as he carried the ball 34 times for 104 yards. Smith was also great on the ground for the Jets by rushing it five times for 32 yards and one touchdown. Newly acquired Josh Cribbs got in on the action a bit in the running game, as they used him in the Wildcat formation on a few plays, and rushed for 14 yards on three carries. Surprising Bilal Powell, who has been the Jets main Running Back didn’t see the field much, as he only had three carries for six yards.

Passing Defense (A+)

Going against Tom Brady the Jets passing defense did a great job for the second time this season making one of the best Quarterbacks in the NFL look human. Brady was held without throwing a touchdown pass, he was also held to under 50% completion percentage, as he threw for 228 yards on 22 for 46 passing. Like Smith, Brady also threw a pick six, as Antonio Allen jumped a pass intended for Rob Gronkowski across the middle and returned it for a touchdown. Allen also did a good job against Gronkowski besides the interception, as even though Gronkowski caught eight passes for 114 yards he was targeted 17 times so the eight catches is a very good job by the Jets defense. The pass rush for the Jets was also very good, as they sacked Brady four times, with Mo Wilkerson, Quinton Coples, Calvin Pace, Damon Harrison all getting a sack.

Rushing Defense (C+)

The Patriots actually had some pretty good success running the football against the Jets, which is something most teams have not been able to say this season. Stevan Ridley led the way on the ground for the Patriots, as he ran for 50 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown. Ridley's backup Brandon Bolden also did well, as he had 36 yards on eight carries, and also had a touchdown.

Special Teams Grade (B+)

Newly Acquired Josh Cribbs wasted little time making an impact for the Jets special teams, as on three punt returns he gained 44 yards. Nick Folk's great season continued, as on Sunday he went a perfect three for three on his field goal attempts. Folk hit two 37-yarders, and the game winner in overtime, which was a 42-yard kick. The Jets did have some issues stopping the Patriots special teams however, as Julian Edelman had 58 punt return yards on three returns, which included a 38-yard return. On kick returns the Patriots also had success, with Legarrette Blount had four returns for 96 yards.

Coaching Grade (A)

The Jets coaching staff has to get a lot of credit for beating the Patriots, which is something Rex Ryan takes a lot of pride in, and he delivered the Jets first win against New England since the 2010 playoffs. On the crucial penalty against the Patriots in overtime, which allowed Folk to hit the game-winning field goal, the Jets coaching staff tipped off the referees to the newly illegal play the Patriots did on the field goal block. On offense Marty Mornhinweg did a great job calling plays to help the Jets double the Patriots on time of possession, which helped the defense by keeping Tom Brady off the field. A big win for the Jets and a big win for Rex Ryan, who is making a legitimate case to be the Jets head coach next season.

Next up for the Jets will be a trip to Cincinnati to play the AFC North leading Bengals, in what should be another test to see just where the Jets stand against one of the better AFC teams.