Patriots’ juggernaut rolls on
FOXBORO, Mass. — With a little over two minutes to play and the New York Jets driving for a go-ahead score, the Patriots defense huddled on the sideline.
It was fourth-and-8 from the New England 30, and the Patriots clung to a six-point lead. They stayed calm, drawing on their varied experiences in close games, and knew they had to get after Chad Pennington to have any chance at saving the game.
When the ball was finally snapped, Pennington hurried his throw to Wayne Chrebet, and Rodney Harrison broke up the pass with 2:14 remaining. The Patriots had come through as they always did, and extended their NFL victory streak to 21 games in a 13-7 win over the Jets on Sunday.
The Patriots also set the regular-season mark of 18 straight wins, surpassing the 17 won by the 1933-34 Chicago Bears. They also moved to 6-0 for the first time in franchise history while handing the Jets (5-1) their first loss this season.
“Chrebet went up the seam, and I saw the ball. I saw Pennington looking at him and I just broke on the ball and tried to touch it,” Harrison said. “We were successful at it.”
Since 2003, the Patriots are 9-1 in games decided by seven points or less. For that reason, there was no panic when the Jets started driving down the field.
“It’s nothing new to us,” cornerback Ty Law said. “Whenever the situation presents itself, it’s, ‘Oh we’ve done this before.’ No one’s tight, no one’s nervous to make a play.”
The matchup was the first pitting two undefeated teams with five or more wins since the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams were both 6-0 going into a game Oct. 28, 1973. The game lived up to the hype, and turned into a defensive struggle in the second half.
New England led 13-7 at the break and could not muster much on offense in the second half. Neither could the Jets until late in the fourth quarter.
Tom Brady finished 20 of 29 for 230 yards and a touchdown, while Corey Dillon had 22 carries for 115 yards, the first 100-yard runner the Jets have allowed all season. David Givens also had the second 100-yard day of his career, finishing with five catches for 107 yards.
Martin passed Jim Brown for seventh place on the NFL career rushing list in the second quarter. He had 70 yards on 20 carries and now has 12,382 career yards, compared to Brown’s 12,312.
Mistakes ended up costing the Jets. Two penalties led to 10 points in the second quarter.