Helmet Stickers: New England Patriots @ New York Jets

I'm still riding a wave of positivity following that victory, I think this was a real team victory. I've watched the condensed game three or maybe even four times now and every time I see someone else making a play, someone else sticking their nose in on a tackle. I see some play calling that is just a fantastic recognition of a mismatch. Whether you agree with the rule or not that gave the Jets a second bite of the apple, it is a rule, and so it was called correctly in line with the rules of the game. However that can't take away the fact that we deserved that win, I really believe that.

So lets get right into the mix with the honorable mentions. I apologise in advance as I think this may be quite a long list. First of all I'm going with Geno Smith, yes the interception was horrible, he looked left, he checked back right, he looked right, he kept looking right, he must have seen the receiver was blanketed but he threw it anyway, that is terrible. But he sustained a drive with his legs, he kept finding the open man. He made good decisions to get rid of the ball and he led his receivers. It's easier to gain positive yardage when the receiver doesn't have to make an adjustment to the ball. I thought all in all Geno had a very good game, he managed it well, but his accuracy on the deep ball is pretty special

David Nelson had a couple of great plays out there at important times. I think although the offensive line were patchy in the run game, especially in the first half. They really came on late, and the conditioning just wore down the defensive line of the Patriots enabling us to run for fun in the late 4th and OT. So hat tip to Brian Winters who looks as though he is getting better week by week, and the rest of the offensive line. Stephen Hill didn't get a lot of traction, but he made a nice catch and run in the first half and would have had a long completion if it were not for the PI. He also would have had a TD, and for my money that's not pushing off, so that was a bad call. The last time I saw someone flop like McCourty did, I was sitting in a box at the royal ballet.

Demario Davis had a massive third down play and he is really playing with a combination of speed, and controlled power and that's pretty special. Although he had some problems in coverage, David Harris sniffed out the screen play and brought his man down for a loss, and overall I thought he made some good plays at the line. Damon Harrison was winning his match-up in the middle and got through early in the 3rd for a sack that really set the Patriots back. There was one play, right at the start of the 4th where Harrison just stood his man up until Ridley tried to come through, out comes his left arm and Ridley is engulfed. Just after the Jets scored a TD, Wilkerson came rushing off the edge for the sack....have you ever seen a man of his size possess such speed and athletic ability? scary! He was winning all day and he had pressures, hits on Brady and just unsettled him, especially in OT.

Nick Folk, stays perfect with a little help from a Patriot. But give him props, after missing a game winner that gets called back for a penalty, he comes back and nails the game winner.....again!

Third Star: Chris Ivory, 34 rushes, 104 yards, 3.1 average

That's not a great average at all, but it's his first 100 yard rushing game as a Jet and he sure did grind out some tough yards, especially in overtime when the legs start getting heavy. He took a lot of punishment and he took what he was given. He is just a bit of a brute, in the first half he was getting nothing. The offensive line were not getting a push at all and he was being met by defenders in the backfield. However the Jets stuck with him and in OT they just kept feeding it to him, time after time after time. He picked up good chunks and tough little ones. It really was a performance of pure grit and determination. He'll have much better days as a Jet, but I love his style and I love his intensity that he brings. I think he deserves this star for OT alone when he got us in the position to kick that game winning field goal.

Second Star: Jeremy Kerley, 8 receptions, 97 yards, 1 touchdown

I think it is safe to say that Geno Smith and Jeremy Kerley are starting to get in groove with one another. If you just watch him running routes, it's amazing that he doesn't have 10 reception games every week. He can turn on a dime and he has enough pace to run away from people. Nice short area quickness. He came through big on third down, I haven't got the numbers to hand but I imagine at least half of those receptions were third down completions that moved the chains. He made a great move on the defensive back for his touchdown, the commentators were complaining about the defensive back, but the quickness on his cut to the outside was tough for anyone to manage. I love having Kerley on this football team, if he stays healthy then we have a great inside threat, and now we have Geno, a player who can zip the ball in there.....expect more games like this from Jeremy.

First Star: Antonio Allen, 9 tackles, 1 interception, 1 touchdown, 3 passes defended

I'm fully aware that Gronkwski had an 8 reception 114 yard performance and a lot of that came on Allen's watch, not all but a lot of it did. However I can't remember the last time we had a player who matched up so well with New England's TE. First of all all three of his passes that he defended were crucial. Two were one on one with Gronk on 3rd down, which forced punts. The stop on the sideline on the jump ball was an incredible play, not just a good play but an incredible one. He jumped the route in the 3rd quarter and showed that determination to get into the endzone. That changed the momentum of the game, got the crowd really fired up and put the fear into Tom Brady. He was pushing and pulling, he was bumping and just making life very uncomfortable on Gronk. It really was just a fantastic performance from start to finish and I hope he got a game ball for his contribution. Well done Antonio.

First Star = 10 points

Second Star = 6 points

Third Star = 3 points

Apologies that I don't have the third table here this week. I will do my best to get it here next week. However at 00:10am, my brain is just about fried!