NFL Patriots Win 14th Straight
New England Beats New York Jets, 20-10, in Snow, Sleet, Rain
Pats defeat Jets, 20-10, in their quest to become the second unbeaten team during a National Football League season.
Neither rain nor snow nor sleet ... nor Jets … were going to deprive the home team. That was the motto of the New England Patriots after slurping out a messy victory over the New York Jets Sunday, 20-10, in a slush version of the infamous “Ice Bowl.”
The Patriots, who were picked to roll over the hopeless Jets by 20 or more points, slogged their way to another win amidst snow, sleet, rain and ice at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Ma., hiking their 2007 season’s record to 14-0. And this time they did it with solid defense and a running game, both lacking for quite some time.
Of course, New England really didn’t have much choice. Because the weather condition were so bad quarterback Tom Brady failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this year. He went 14-of-27 for 140 yards with one interception, hitting All-Pro wide receiver Randy Moss only five times for 79 yard and wideout Wes Welker three times for but 30 yards.
That put the ball squarely in the hands of running back Laurence Maroney, who carried 26 times for 104 yards, only the fourth time this season a Patriot runner has exceeded 100 yards in a game. Maroney squeezed into the end zone for the Pats lone offensive touchdown, accounting for New England’s winning tally. The seemingly forgotten back's score came on the heels of a devastating blocked punt by the Pats' defense.
Combined with two Stephen Gostkowski field goals and a scoring interception return by defensive back Eugene Wilson, Maroney’s one-yard scamper stood up, as the defense did a stellar job, so much so that New York was forced to use all three of their quarterbacks.
The defense got an early start, as Patriot All-Pro D-lineman Richard Seymour slammed starting Jets’ quarterback Kellen Clemens into the turf on New York’s second play of the game, forcing Clemens to leave the game. His fluttering pass was nabbed by Wilson, who returned the interception five yards for the TD.
Chad Pennington, who began the season as New York’s starting QB, hit on 25 of 38 passes for 186 yards, but New England’s defense held the Jets to 76 yards on the ground, crippling New York’s efforts.
Meanwhile, Brady shrugged off his failure to throw for a touchdown, telling The Associated Press, "When you have elements like this you want to play great defense and run the ball.”
Both New England coach Bill Belichick and New York coach Eric Mangini downplayed the effect of the so-called “Spygate” furor stemming from the teams’ first meeting this season during which Mangini turned in the Patriots for using a video camera to record Jets’ signals on the sidelines. The NFL fined Belichick $500,000 and the team another $250,000 and a first-round draft pick for the flagrant violation.
Sunday, the Patriots face the 1-13 Miami Dolphins, the last team to run the table during an NFL season – in 1972.
