Feeling the heat

PRE-GAME: Warming up.

WEEK 5
Patriots 30, Jets 21 (10/9'11): Eighty degrees and sunny. Shorts and T-shirts in October. An array of foods from land and sea (and manufacturing plant). A visit by the Stanley Cup. An enjoyable victory over the rival J-E-T-S. A near propane tank disaster. Tailgating is never dull.

I arrived at the Enchanted Forest a little before noon -- well before the traffic jam -- and staked out a spot in the shade. A half hour later Shep, Matt, Mark, Bergs, and Billy had joined me and the sausages, ribs, burgers, and little neck clams were all cooking on Billy's new, shiny grill. We raised a toast to Al Davis, the weather, and to our continued good fortune to be getting ready for yet another big game.

The game was a standoff of mistakes and near mistakes for the first five minutes -- and then Brady hit Welker down the middle for 32 yards to the Jets 27. Four BenJarvus carries later and the Pats were up 7-0 and the summer-like day got that much better. Rex Ryan was quoted after the game as saying the Pats ran the ball on plays the Jets thought Brady would throw it. That was the key to the game and will be a key to the rest of the season.

The Pats continued to pound the ball against the Jets defense and added a 44-yard Gostkowski field goal with 11 minutes to go in the half. The Pats had 10 points. The Jets had zero points. And zero first downs. And only 38 yards of offense. Jets' QB Mark Sanchez was feeling the heat of the Pats defensive line. He was sacked once and hurried often. It wasn't a dominant rush, but with the return of Haynesworth the D line got some push. Better, but still not good enough.

Much like last year's playoff game, the Pats were dominating but they couldn't pull away on the scoreboard. And like the playoff game, the Jets finally put together a nice touchdown drive to get back into it. A 13-play, nearly eight minute march was capped by a Shonn Greene touchdown and the score was 10-7. And then, like the playoff game, the Pats made a key mistake late in the first half.

With just more than three minutes to go, the Pats got the ball at their own 7-yard line and moved the ball with the no-huddle all the way down the the New York 11. It was a drive that saw Brady sacked three times -- he was feeling the heat all day from the Jets' D. And it was a drive that ended when Brady hit Hernandez right in the hands for what would have been a touchdown on the last play of the half. Instead, the ball bounced out of the tight end's hands and was picked by Antonio Cromartie. It was the only good thing Cromartie did all day.

The Pats walked off the field dejected and only up by three. The first play of the second half would help change the mood and the score.

Welker got behind the defensive backs and Brady hit him in stride for a 73-yard play down to the Jets' 7-yard line. A Deion Branch fumble at the two was overturned -- whew -- and then Branch burned Cromartie and was wide open in the endzone for a touchdown to put the Pats up 17-7. The teams exchanged points in an entertaining second half. Every play was a battle for both offenses. Nothing came easy. The game had a definite playoff feeling. The Jets scored with seven minutes to go in the game to cut the score to 27-21. It was one of those season-defining moments.

The Pats started the drive with eight straight running plays. The biggest was on a 3rd-and-4 at the Jets' 46. Brady was in the shotgun and Mt. Ryan and his Jets were ready for the pass that everyone knew was coming. But Bennie took the direct snap, broke left, and ran for 14 huge yards. It was a great call. The offense took 13 plays and chewed up more than six minutes of clock, setting up Gostkowski for the game-clinching field goal with just a minute to play. The Pats put up 30 points for the 13th straight regular season game. Quite a streak. I don't think any of those 30 points were more hard earned than in this game.

Some tailgaters were shooting off fireworks as we started to set up our post-game celebration. It wasn't the Fourth of July, but with the rockets red glare and the warm temperatures it sure felt like it. Billy connected the propane tank to his new grill and started it up. A flash of orange and blue flame shot out of the tank and quickly engulfed Billy. He jumped away from the grill and the flames vanished. We all huddled around him to see if he was OK. The hair on his arms, legs, even his eyebrows were all singed. In some places completely burned away. But his skin was safe. Red, but not burned.

The couple tailgating next to us brought over a big bag of ice. Billy sat there cooling down as we all relived his past experiences with fire. There are a few. Matt offered Billy some words of reassurance.

"It doesn't look too bad," he said. "You didn't get burned as bad as Cromartie did on that touchdown by Branch."

POST-GAME: Overheated.