Image courtesy of Jets Wire

I think Jabrill Peppers said it best after the game. The Patriots got their asses kicked. Plain and simple. 

The Jets beat the Patriots at home for the first time since 2015. It wasn’t pretty. 

Here are seven points from the Patriots 24-3 loss to the Jets.

1. Offense was anemic: The offense was bad. Plain and simple. Sure, the receivers were more involved but that felt forced. The Patriots went away from what allowed them to be competitive in their first two games. Run the ball and play-action. It seemed right out of the gate that the Patriots were going to throw the ball regardless of the fact that they could not protect Jacoby Brissett. It made no sense. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt seemed more focused on placating the receivers. 

2. Long night for the offensive line: Honestly, it was to be expected. The Jets pass rush is good, even without Haasan Reddick. Will McDonald terrorized both Michael Onwenu and rookie Caedan Wallace. The Patriots simply couldn’t block him. He finished with 2.5 sacks and the Jets finished with a whopping 7 sacks. Both Brissett and Drake Maye took a beating. 

3. Vintage Rodgers: Last night’s performance by Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was vintage Aaron Rodgers. After struggling against San Francisco and tip toeing his way through the first half of the Tennessee game, Rodgers was on point last night from the opening snap. He completed 27-of-35 passes for 281 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Perhaps the most impressive part of his performance was his scrambling ability. He routinely extended plays. The Patriots defense had no answers for him. 

4. Defense was fundamentally bad: As good as Rodgers was, the Patriots defense was equally bad. Terrible run fits, poor tackling and bad pursuit angles contributed to a long night for a unit that is supposed to be the strength of this team. Add to that numerous injuries to key players and it was a bad night overall. The defensive coaching staff has a lot of work to do to get this group back on track. It has not been good the past two weeks.

5. More Pop in the offense: If there was one silver lining, it was that the Patriots got Pop Douglas more involved in the offensive game plan. Douglas got touches in the passing game, on screens and out of the backfield. He finished with 7 catches for 69 yards. It was nice to see him more involved but the concerted effort to get him touches also took the Patriots out of what they do philosophically. Van Pelt is going to have to find some balance.

6. Wallace thrown to the wolves: Rookie Caedan Wallace got his first start at left tackle and it was a struggle. In fairness to Wallace, it was against the Jets and he got thrown to the wolves. Wallace had two illegal formation penalties and two holding calls in pass protection. He struggled mightily and his stay at left tackle might be a short. To add insult to injury, he left the game with an injury. 

7. Maye mops up: Drake Maye got mop up duty on the last series of the game. He completed 4-of-8 passes for 22 yards and got sacked twice. I am not sure if this was the week to give him mop up duty. After the game, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo was asked if he will make a quarterback change. Mayo once again muddied the waters by saying that he will meet with his staff and make a decision. I don’t get it? There is no chance Maye starts against San Francisco. Why say that?