Pittsburgh Steelers

Monday Night Football

I’d like to apologise. I’d like to formally apologise. I’d like to formally apologise to Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick and the entire New England Patriots organisation. I’d like to formally apologise to Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick and the entire New England Patriots organisation for having the gaul to believe that for one second the Jets might have stood a chance in last night’s game.

New England

I mean… wow. That defence is nasty. It pains me to compliment the Patriots: I’m a Dolphins fan. How could I possibly like them? They murder my team every year, and are pretty much the only reason why I’ll likely not see the Dolphins make the playoffs in the next 50 years, until Belichick finally retires having won 24 Super Bowls and building a new dynasty with Tom Brady’s son Benjamin at Quarterback. I can’t cheer for them. But I can’t argue with greatness. If anything exemplified the Patriots mean streak it was Bill Belichick using NFL rules loopholes to run a whole extra 90 seconds off the clock up 33-0 and smirking about it when the Jets allowed him to do so but declining the penalties the Patriots had committed. They are stone cold killers. They suffocated the Bills into submission and made a talented young quarterback look like he was 6 years old and throwing the football for the first time. And then I wake up this morning and they’ve added Mohamed Sanu to their already impressively deep and varied receiving corps. However, I do think talk of a 16-0 record is a little premature – they have a significantly tougher second half of the season schedule – and the Ravens, Cowboys, Texans & Chiefs could all rest this defence in very different ways. However it isn’t outrageous to suggest already that the road to the AFC Championship will absolutely run through New England. 

NY Jets

Let’s talk about the Jets. I actually thought their defence played relatively well. Brady was finding holes in their zones, but wasn’t lighting them up. The New England defence won them that game. Okay, fine, they had some help. Sam Darnold was bad. Really bad. When you throw four interceptions and lose a fumble, it’s never gonna be a good night, but when you’re wearing a mic and admit to “seeing ghosts” you’re reeeeeeally in trouble then. The memes, the tweets, the mockery… oh Sam. I’d stake a rather large amount of money that a lot of Jaguars fans (the Jets’ week 8 opponent) turn up wearing bedsheets with eye holes cut out of them. And on the weekend before Halloween as well; spooky and topical, you’re welcome Duval. 

But, in the interest of fairness, let’s say some nice things about the Jets… Errrrr, LeVeon Bell was good! The lone bright spot in an otherwise terrible offensive display. He was his usual patient self, waiting for the right time to scythe through the defence. In stark contrast with Melvin Gordon’s current form, Bell’s holdout doesn’t seem to have curtailed his ability to be a playmaker. Robby Anderson and Jamison Crowder are good receivers who will have better nights against people not named Stephon Gilmore and Devin McCourty. You just beat the Cowboys! That’s no walk in the park. Furthermore, just as the Patriots schedule worsens, the Jets looks more favourable! Jags, Dolphins, Giants, Washington, Oakland, Bengals & Dolphins again are their next 7 games. I’m gonna boldly predict the Jets win… at least 5 of those!? Miami twice, Washington and Cincinnati seem like free wins right now, and you’d have to hope Jamal Adams and Quinnen Williams could get one of Andy Dalton, Daniel Jones or Gardner Minshew to turn the ball over a few times. It’ll be too late for them to make a playoff push this season, but at least the future is brighter for the Jets. Darnold, Bell, Anderson, Crowder, young and exciting Tight End Herndon is back next week too… that’s a decent offense, and the defensive side is growing stronger too.

The only problem is, the Patriots aren’t going anywhere. And they might just be getting better.

Callum Squires
@callumjdsquires