It was a long and painful crash back down to reality for the New England Patriots in Thursday’s 24-3 loss to the New York Jets. A couple of weeks ago, some fans wondered if the Patriots could make a playoff run after upsetting the Cincinnati Bengals.
That crowd imploded along with the Patriots offense on primetime television.
They couldn’t get anything going against a Jets team that held them to a field goal and 139 total yards. You could smell the stench from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford all the way back in Foxborough.
With that said, the Patriots had a lot of things working against them, including injuries and being on the road. Playing in a short week after going into overtime in last week’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t an ideal situation for the team. Now, they get a mini break to reflect on the current state of the team through three games.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from Thursday’s game: