New England allowed seven sacks Thursday night.
The New York Jets knew where the New England Patriots weakness was. Their game plan Thursday night? Attack it.
The Jets defense went after the Patriots offensive line, blitzing Jacoby Brissett on 40 percent of his drop backs, the highest rate in a game under head coach Robert Saleh since 2021, according to NextGenStats.
New England had no response to the pressure, as quarterback Jacoby Brissett felt the heat on 56.5 percent of his total drop backs — including 80 percent of this drop backs against the blitz.
“They dictated what we wanted to do — hats off to them. They had a good plan,” David Andrews said post game.
In total, Brissett was able to complete just 12-of-18 passes for 98 yards as the Patriots offense could not find any sort of rhythm in a 24-3 loss. The QB was additionally sacked five total times and absorbed double digit hits.
“The offensive line had a hard time,” Jerod Mayo said. “There were times earlier in the game where the pockets looked pretty clean but as the game wore on, similar to last week, it started to fall apart for us, protections.
“It’s not only knowing how to do it, but it’s also knowing what to do. We’ve also had some injuries up front where the next man has to be ready to go.”
Pressure had been the biggest issue plaguing the Patriots offense over the first two weeks of the season as Brissett faced the second-highest pressure rate in the league entering Thursday night.
It’s resulted in the quarterback failing to throw for 150 yards in a game yet this season as the passing attack has plagued the offense.
“We have to be better up front. We’re going to work and try to do everything we can to be better,” Andrews said. “[The pressure rate is] not sustainable and that’s not winning football.”
New England will now have 10 days until their next game to try and fix the issue. That could begin with a new starting combination, as they’ve started three different left tackles in each game this season while other positions deal with injuries.
“We have to do better up front. We have to, whether it’s through scheme or whatever, we got to reevaluate. The good thing is, it’s Thursday, so it’s a mini-by-week where we, as coaches, can also reset and look at things that we could do better,” Mayo said.
“The offensive line, you want those guys to be able to go out there as a unit and gel together. But whether through injury or through whatever it is. We just haven’t found the right combination.”