The New England Patriots earned a slow-burning 15-10 victory over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Although the ultimate goal was a win, the Patriots’ offense was sluggish in a game where they should have taken advantage of the poor offense the Jets trotted out on the field.
Buy Patriots TicketsRegardless, as we do each week, we’re going to hand out some standout star awards to the top-three Patriots players. Even if this was a game that lacked excitement and offensive progression, it still had some big-time playmakers on the Patriots’ side.
First Star: Matthew Judon
Judon had two sacks, and one of them forced a safety to make it a five-point game. It was a clutch play that pretty much iced the game for the Patriots.
He was also stout against the run and was one of the main reasons the Patriots were able to dominate the Jets offense like they did.
With Jets tackle Duane Brown out, Judon was able to attack the backup tackles and create mismatches across the rest of the line of scrimmage, which forced the Jets to commit an extra player towards double-teaming him.
Judon had the biggest impact on the game for the Patriots as the defensive fulcrum, and that makes him worthy of being the first star this week.
Second Star: Pharaoh Brown
It was hard not to include Pharaoh Brown on this list. He had the longest play of the night for the only Patriots touchdown, when he snagged a 58-yard house-call from Mac Jones.
Other than the long pass, Brown caught another one for 13 yards and had a good game as the team’s pseudo fullback on obvious running downs.
His presence on the field created a nice wrinkle for a Patriots offense that needs to start implementing more complex offensive concepts to win more games.
Third Star: Jabrill Peppers
Jabrill Peppers had seven tackles and handled some punt return duties with a 12.5 yard per return average.
Peppers was seemingly in on a lot of important plays, and he was sticky in coverage late game as the Jets tried to mount a comeback. He was versatile and impactful in two facets of the game, and that made him this week’s third star.
So far, Peppers has had a great second year in the Patriots’ system. He is clearly another, multi-talented defensive weapon for coach Bill Belichick to use on the field.
