Patriots beat Jets on punt return TD in ugly game

The New England Patriots and New York Jets played one of the ugliest games of the season on Sunday, and it ended in fitting fashion.

New England’s first and only touchdown in their 10-3 victory over the Jets came with 5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. It was not scored by their offense. Rookie Marcus Johnson fielded what was the 17th punt of the game and took it 84 yards to the house.

PUNT RETURN TD WITH 5 SECONDS LEFT! @Patriots

📺: #NYJvsNE on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/0M1xbb6fcp pic.twitter.com/zF3bFuvvpI

— NFL (@NFL) November 20, 2022

Neither team could get a single thing going offensively in a game that seemed like it was headed for overtime and quite possibly a 3-3 tie. The Patriots had 345 total yards of offense but missed two field goals and were unable to finish drives. The Jets managed just 103 yards of offense and 2 total in the second half.

The game-winning punt return reminded people of former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s walk-off punt return against the New York Giants back in 2010. The Giants failed to punt the ball out of bounds in that game, which gave Jackson an opportunity he should never have had.

Jackson was one of the most explosive punt returners in the NFL at the time. That is why former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was irate at his team for not kicking the ball out of bounds. Jones does not have that type of reputation, but it was obviously a mistake for the Jets to allow the Patriots to return the punt. It may have cost them a win an important win in the tight AFC East.