I sit here still reeling from the events of yesterday’s game between the New York Jets and the hated New England Patriots. There are many, many ways to describe the game but there is really only one word that comes to mind for me.

Unbelievable.

This is unbelievable to me. I have spent much time this off-season campaigning on behalf of head coach Rex Ryan & his “swaggerlicious” bravado. The drafting of rookie QB Mark Sanchez and the welcome additions of Bart Scott and crew to the defense, have all been met with nothing but glowing reviews and positive expectations from this website but I never expected this.

Our defense came into this game carrying the full weight that comes with lots of pre-game trash talking. Plenty had been said about the folly of providing “bulletin board” material, in particular with a team like the New England Patriots, or should I say especially when it comes to the golden boy of the NFL Tom Brady.

Unbelievably, our new defense delivered like Dominoes.

New York Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said the intention was to “embarrass” the Pats. I would dare say that is pretty much what happened. One of the leagues top offensive machines was shut down nearly completely, scoring 3 field goals and zero touch downs. Thanks to Rex Ryan’s blitzing schemes, the Jets held Tom Brady to an under 50% completion rate, going 23 for 47. Under constant pressure, Brady averaged a dismal 4.5 yards per pass attempt.

While Brady never endured a sack, he was either hit or hurried just about half the times he dropped back. This lead to hurried reads, the inability to go through his progressions and eventually an interception to Darrelle Revis.

Speaking of Revis, for the second straight week, the young New York Jets CB completely took a top five receiver out of the game. Revis shadowed Randy Moss the entire game limiting him to 4 catches for 24 yards. Moss’s longest reception was only 9 yards. With Revis on the case, Moss was entirely ineffectual.

There is no doubt in my mind that the New York Jets defense just sent New England, and the rest of the league for that matter, a powerful message…”Watch out, cause this ain’t your daddy’s same old Jets!”

Offensively, New York got off to a sluggish start. Thanks in large part to a Sanchez fumble for a 17 yard loss on their first possession, Brian Schottenheimer seemingly slapped handcuffs on the young QB. Sanchez had a paltry 5 attempts in the first two quarters of play. Thankfully, things would change come the second half. Truth be told, reining him in was probably the right thing to do, although I don’t agree that it needed to last an entire half. Sanchez looked uncomfortable after the fumble and probably needed to get his feet under him again. I’m sure we will see more moments like this as the season goes on, which makes me very grateful for the killer defense we seem to possess.

Of course, it wasn’t all piss and vinegar for the Jets offense. The second half brought on a renewed vigor as Sanchez went 11 for 17 with 148 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. Unlike the first half, the Jets were able to churn out long drives, keeping the defense off the field and fresh.

All and all, I think it is a fair statement to say that the New York Jets thoroughly out played the New England Patriots in this game. As a fan I expected a win but I can’t say I quite expected such a lopsided outcome. I think we can expect to see some serious fireworks come the next regular season meeting between these two teams.

By then, the will be a whole lot more tape on our young Sanchise. There is little doubt in my mind that this next meeting will expose the Jets for what they truly are…and like you, I am hoping that they are what they say they are. The best team in the league.