By the end of the Patriots’ 22-17 win over the Jets on Sunday, MetLife Stadium felt like Gillette Stadium South.
Patriots fans invaded East Rutherford for the game, and they took over at the end of the game, when the outcome was decided, chanting, “Brady, Brady!” as New England ran out the clock.
“It’s tough,” Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa said. “I know, as a fan, it’s hard to support when your team’s not playing the way you want it to. I don’t blame them, but at the same time, it would be great if we could have more of our fans in our home stadium.”
There were tons of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski jerseys all over the stadium. It’s hard to blame Jets fans who sold off their tickets to this one rather than watching the now 3-8 Jets lose another game.
“We all understand this is a business,” wide receiver Brandon Marshall said. “When you lose, you’re gonna hear the boo birds. People are gonna be disappointed. They spend a lot of money to come watch us play. We know these fans are really passionate, and they want to win. It’s been a long time since they’ve had a winner. So you understand that because it’s a part of the business. It comes with it when you’re not doing your job and not winning games. It’s gonna be a rough year.”
The Jets tried to get Marshall involved early in the game. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw to Marshall for a 13-yard gain on the Jets’ first play. He went back to him three plays later for a 20-yard gain. Marshall had five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown in the first half. It was his first touchdown in six games.
The hot start did not last, though. He had one catch for 13 yards in the second half.
“I’ve learned that wide receiver is the only position on the field that depends on someone else for their success,” Marshall said. “You see it around the league, where receivers get labeled as divas and prima donnas or selfish. Most receivers just want to make plays for their team. When you say throw me the ball, you come off as selfish. I just try to go about my business. We just didn’t adjust the way we should have, and that’s on all of us.”
Safety Calvin Pryor suffered a head injury late in the game and was being checked for a concussion. … Nose tackle Steve McLendon was bothered by a hamstring injury. … Center Nick Mangold (ankle) missed his fourth straight game.
— Additional reporting by Dan Martin