Cam Newton passed for three touchdowns, and caught another on Sunday afternoon as the New England Patriots finished off a disappointing 2020 season with a 28-14 win over the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium.
The teams traded scores in the first half as Newton hit James White for a seven yard score, but Sam Darnold tied it when he tossed a 21 yard TD to Chris Herndon in the second. New York (2-14) took the lead in the third quarter when Josh Adams found the endzone on a short one yard run. Some trickery by New England tied it back up, as wide receiver Jakobi Myers took a reverse handoff from Newton and passed it back to the quarterback who caught the 19 yard TD pass. JC Jackson came up with his ninth interception on the season on the Jets next possession, and the Patriots went back into the lead for good when Newton found rookie tight end Devin Asiasi who made a great catch on a 26 yard scoring play. Newton added a 31 yard TD toss to Sony Michel in the fourth quarter to put the game away, as New England finished off a 7-9 season missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2008 season.
Newton finished 21-30 for 242 yards passing with three touchdowns, easily his best game of the season. He also rushed 11 times for 79 yards and caught the TD pass from Myers. ESPN reporter Adam Schefter said earlier in the day before the game that New England and Newton would part ways in the offseason. Michel added 16 carries for 76 yards and the TD reception, while Myers had six catches for 68 yards to lead the receiving core. Devin McCourty, Lawrence Guy, and Kyle Dugger had five tackles each to lead the defense. Darnold was 23-34 passing for 266 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the New York loss. Adams rushed 12 times for 47 yards and a score, while Breshad Perriman (3-84) and Herndon (7-63) would lead the receivers. Neville Hewitt and Marcus Maye had seven tackles each, as the Jets lost their 10th consecutive game to the Patriots. Head Coach Adam Gase was fired after the game Sunday, an announcement that was made prior to by the organization. New England, along with many other teams, will now put their focus on the upcoming NFL Draft in April where they will pick 15th in the first round.
