There are a couple major things that can be taken from the New York Jets’ thrilling 34-31 overtime win at New England last night.
The first for many is likely whether or not the Jets are now the team to beat in an AFC East that has been a lot more competitive than anyone would‘ve expected in the preseason.
It’s hard to argue against it right now, certainly. The Jets are 3-1 against their division foes, with all three of those victories coming on the road. Brett Favre is still excellent when he wants to be, and Thomas Jones is producing (104 yards, 3 TD vs. New England).
But are they a sure-fire Super Bowl contender? They’re on the way to proving it, but their defense is still a little hit-or-miss. Their real test will come next week at Tennessee, when the Fightin’ Favres could face a Titans team that will be 10-0 if they can win at Jacksonville on Sunday.
The other thing to take from last night, and what catches my eye more than the Jets’ win, is the maturation of Matt Cassel. Cassel’s had his struggles since stepping in for Tom Brady, but last night, Cassel had his best game by far.
If you hadn’t been paying attention to the name and number on the back of the jersey, you might have thought it was Brady out there rallying the Patriots last night, not Cassel. If it happens that you took a gamble on starting Cassel in your fantasy team this week, you came out looking roses, thanks to his night through the air (30 of 51, 400 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT). He also added 62 yards on the ground, which certainly doesn’t hurt.
More notable than the numbers is the way that Cassel rallied New England from a 24-6 second-quarter deficit, operating the two-minute drill to perfection at the end of each half to produce key touchdowns.
Late in the first half, the Jets were in control with their 18-point lead. But, Cassel led the Pats 68 yards and threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney to draw New England within 24-13 shortly before the half. He would lead another touchdown drive late in the third to make it 24-21 at the start of the fourth, and on the next possession, the Patriots tied it on Stephen Gostkowski’s 47-yard field goal.
The Jets would go on a seven-minute touchdown drive to retake the lead, and after the team’s swapped three and outs, it was Cassel’s time again. With a little over a minute left, no timeouts, and facing a 31-24 deficit, the Patriots took over at their 38. Cassel calmly led the Patriots down the field, completing 5 of 5 passes for 67 yards, including a 16-yarder to Randy Moss with a second left to send the game into overtime.
Had the Patriots gotten the ball first in overtime and not the Jets, there’s a good chance the end result would’ve been different, but even though the Jets walked away with the win, Cassel has nothing to hang his head about.
I’m not declaring that Cassel’s on his way to becoming a legend, or anything remotely close to that, but last night could’ve been his turning point, and with it, a positive sign for the Patriots’ hopes to remain in the hunt. It’s all too easy to write off the Patriots, if you haven’t already, but if Cassel can build on this performance and play well through the remainder of the season, the Patriots might yet still be able to make some noise.
I’m an avid Pats’ fan and though they’re off to a solid start to the season. I expect to see them make the playoffs successfully. They may well problems however in the first round from thereon in. Experience no doubt’ll count for a lot and I think that with Cassell he will still struggle somewhat.
tophatal …………….