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Patriots-Jets: What we learned

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — This time, things ended differently for Chris Jones — and his team.

Last October, the defensive tackle was called for climbing the back of a teammate as Nick Folk tried a game-winning overtime field goal for the New York Jets. The penalty moved Folk closer and the Jets won the game.

Thursday night, it was Jones who blocked a 58-yard field goal attempt by Folk, allowing the New England Patriots to hang on for a 27-25 over the Jets.

“I feel a lot different than I felt last year and it feels really good,” said Jones. “It’s good to feel that ball hitting my hand and it’s good to get that win.

“I just played it legally and did all that I could and it happened.”

“(I’m) obviously really happy for Chris at the end,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “After what happened last year, I thought it was so fitting that he made that play. That was awesome.”

Jones blocked what would have been Folk’s fifth field goal of the game. It was the kicker’s first miss in 14 tries on the season.

“I tried to drive it a little bit,” said Folk. “I was told my line was at the 40, so I tried to give it a good ride. I felt like I hit it pretty good — it’s just a bummer that it didn’t get past eight yards.”

The Patriots had the ball for only 19 minutes and 4 seconds, but quarterback Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, two of them to running back Shane Vereen in the first half, as the Patriots made it 5-1 since opening the season with a loss at Miami.

The Jets (1-6) lost their sixth game in a row, but they almost tied the game with 2:31 left when they scored a touchdown but failed on a two-point conversion.

New York was unsuccessful on an onside kick, but it forced the Patriots to punt and quarterback Geno Smith took the Jets from their own 12-yard line to the New England 40.

The Patriots earned their third consecutive win. They trailed 19-17 in the third quarter, scored 10 straight points and then held off the Jets’ late charge.

What the Patriots said:

“New York is a good team, and that’s why it was close. We had to battle to the finish. We knew we were going to have to play 60 minutes, and luckily we did.” — Running back Shane Vereen, after his team hung on to beat the Jets.

“They’re 1-5 and gave us everything we could handle.” — Quarterback Tom Brady, on the Jets, who slipped to 1-6 with the loss.

“It took more than 100 percent effort tonight. We fought. It was a classic AFC game, Jets-Patriots. We knew it was going to be a grind; they knew it was going to be a grind.” — Nose tackle Vince Wilfork.

What the Jets said:

“Our guys gave everything they had, obviously. We never played the smartest game in the history of the sport, without question, on defense. To say it’s a disappointing loss is a fair assessment. We’ve been snake-bit this season, given up so many touchdowns on third down this year, when we’ve got them where we want them. We’ve given up a bunch of them, and most of the time, it’s been our own fault.” — Coach Rex Ryan.

“Very frustrating. We just have to get a win and we have to do whatever it takes. We let this one get away from us, and now we just have to make adjustments and move forward.” — Linebacker Quinton Coples.

“Terrible. It was just terrible because the offense did a hell of a job. We just gave up two many plays.” — Linebacker Calvin Pace.

“Yeah, I feel like we did (let the Patriots off the hook). We had a chance to win the game and they had a late block of the field goal. We’ve just got to keep fighting hard and continue to try to get some victory on the board.” — Running back Chris Johnson.

What we learned about the Patriots:

1. Running back Shane Vereen can do the job as the starter in place of Stevan Ridley, who went down with a knee injury Sunday. Vereen caught two touchdown passes in the first half Thursday night and finished the game with 47 rushing yards and 71 receiving yards. “He was a workhorse in all areas,” quarterback Tom Brady said.

2. Wide receiver Danny Amendola may have something to do with the long-term success of the team. He made a great catch for what turned out to be the winning touchdown — his first catch since Game 1 — and he returned four kicks for 105 yards. He was more involved in the offense, also drawing a key pass-interference penalty and having a catch called back before of an interference call on teammate Brandon LaFell.

–WR Danny Amendola emerged from oblivion Thursday night, helping the Patriots survive a scare from the New York Jets. He made his Patriots debut as a kick returner, something he used to do with the Rams early in his career, and he ran back four kicks for 105 yards. He also made a circus catch for what turned out to be the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, his first reception since making three grabs in the opening game at Miami. “He made a phenomenal catch,” QB Tom Brady said. Added coach Bill Belichick: “Nobody works harder than Danny.” Amendola also drew an important pass-interference penalty near the New York goal line and had a catch called back because of a penalty. “We came out on top, and that’s what I’m excited about,” Amendola said. “We’re all excited. Good win for us.”

–QB Tom Brady has nine touchdown passes and no interceptions during his team’s three-game winning streak. On Thursday night, he passed Warren Moon and moved into sixth place on the NFL’s all-time passes attempted list. He also joined Bruce Armstrong and Julius Adams as the only players to play 200 games with the Patriots. He won his 41st consecutive home game against AFC opposition.

–RB Shane Vereen, now the starter since Stevan Ridley went down for the season with a knee injury, caught two touchdown passes in the first half Thursday night. On the first one, a 49-yarder, he was allowed to roam free downfield and had to make a nifty catch of a Tom Brady pass. He finished the game with 71 receiving yards and 47 rushing yards.

–DT Chris Jones turned the tables on fate Thursday night. Last season, he was called for a penalty climbing the back of a teammate on a Nick Folk field goal attempt in overtime. Folk was moved closer and made the winning kick. On Thursday night, Jones blocked Folk’s 58-yarder as time ran out to preserve New England’s victory. “I’m happy for Chris,” said coach Bill Belichick, who called the play “awesome.” Said Jones: “I feel a lot different than I felt last year, and it feels really good. It’s good to feel that ball hitting my hand, and it’s good to get that win. I just played it legally and did all that I could, and it happened.”

What we learned about the Jets:

1. The Jets play the New England Patriots tough — most of the time, anyway. They haven’t beaten quarterback Tom Brady in Foxborough since 2006, but that is in the regular season — they did win a playoff game at New England. “They play grind-it-out games,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Said Jets linebacker Quinton Coples: “It is a rivalry. We tend to play well in those games. It should always be a good game.”

2. Perhaps it is too soon to give up on the career of quarterback Geno Smith. The embattled second-year player was pretty much mistake-free Thursday night in the Jets’ loss to the Patriots, and he came within a whisker of pulling off the upset. He finished 20 of 34 for 226 yards and a touchdown, and he didn’t throw an interception for the first time this season. Smith left for one play in the fourth quarter with a leg injury before quickly returning and almost pulling out the win.

–QB Geno Smith played his best game of the season in almost leading the Jets to an upset win over the Patriots on Thursday night. He was 20 of 34 for 226 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for 37 yards on seven tries. He did not throw an interception for the first time this year. Told after the game his coach was agitated with the loss, Smith said, “We all are. It’s extremely frustrating because I know the dedication in that locker room and I know the quality of men we have and the way that we prepare throughout the week. And I believe that we need to just stick to it and it’s going to happen for us, and we have the guys. We have what we need to win. We just fell short. We shot ourselves in the foot time and time again, and today … obviously we didn’t do enough.”

–RB Chris Ivory hit the 100-yard rushing mark early in the second half Thursday and finished with 107 and a touchdown on the ground as well as four receptions for 18 yards. It was his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, the eighth of his career. “I think we fought hard and things were coming together,” he said. “The result is not showing on the scoreboard, but I think we are getting there.”

–K Nick Folk, who kicked an overtime field goal to give the Jets a win over New England last year, had a 58-yarder blocked as time expired with his team going for the win Thursday night. Folk kicked four field goals earlier in the game, making him 13-for-13 for the season before the last kick was blocked. “I tried to drive it a little bit,” Folk said. “I was told my line was at the 40, so I tried to give it a good ride. I felt like I hit it pretty good — it’s just a bummer that it didn’t get past 8 yards.”

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