The New England Patriots always seem to find ways to win close games under Bill Belichick. That was the case on Sunday when the Pats beat the division rivals New York Jets thanks to a punt return touchdown in the dying seconds of the game.
The game itself was a defensive standoff that saw no team managing to come up with anything that would seem like a functional offense. Both the Pats and Jets managed to only get a field goal apiece in the second quarter and entered the final 30 seconds of the game tied 3-3.
The Jets had the ball at the point, but their drive didn’t go anywhere so they sent their punter Braden Mann to the field. New England’s punt returner Marcus Jones got the punt at the 16-yard line and proceeded to dash and slice through the tackles to deliver the ball in the end zone and give the Pats a memorable win.
“How that game ended was phenomenal,” said Patriots captain Deatrich Wise Jr. “I think it was almost like a movie script in a sense. I think of all the football movies — “Rudy,” “Any Given Sunday” and “Remember the Titans” — this beats it.”
Interestingly, this was the first punt returned for a touchdown in the 2022 NFL season. It was also New England’s first kickoff or punt return TD in the fourth quarter since 2002.
The Patriots improved to a 6-4 record win the win and look in good shape to fight for the playoff spot. The New York Jets are also 6-4 but now have their work cut out for them since New England owns the tiebreaker.
