The sloppy, low-scoring game on Thursday between the New York Jets and New England Patriots ended in a large brawl and two ejections. Jets center Nick Mangold's questionable hit on Patriots corner Aqib Talib started the fracas, which resulted in the ejections of Jets players Willie Colon and D'Brickashaw Ferguson.
Talib intercepted his second pass from Jets rookie Geno Smith with 38 seconds left in the game, sealing a 13-10 victory for the Patriots. As Talib ran down the sideline with the pick, Mangold gave a low hit on Talib as the corner spun out of bounds. The Patriots sideline took exception to the hit and the scuffle began.
Both teams got in to a heated shoving match as referees desperately tried to separate the players. There appeared to be contact with the referees from Colon and Ferguson - both were subsequently ejected.
Was Mangold's hit dirty? (Click HERE to view the scuffle in HD, via Fansided.com)
"I lost my temper. I lost my cool out there, and we can't have it," Colon said after the game, via ESPN. "I know better so it's my fault."
Mangold, Colon and Ferguson are likely to be fined for their roles in the scuffle.
The brawl capped off a frustrating night for the Jets, which saw Smith complete 15-of-35 passes for 214 yards and three interceptions. Dropped passes from his receivers didn't help, either. For the Jets' defense, Thursday was a missed opportunity to capitalize on the Patriots' struggling offense.
Quarterback Tom Brady and his new-look offense looked out of sync for most of the game. In a rare performance from Brady, the future Hall of Famer went just 19-of-39 for 185 yards and one touchdown. Still, Brady willed his team to the 13-10 win on a rainy Thursday night.
Receiver Julian Edelman caught 13 of Brady's passes. Brady looked visibly frustrated throughout the night with the rest of the receiving group, which didn't appear to be on the same page as him. Despite the hiccups in the offense, Brady reminded everyone that three of his receivers are still just rookies.
"It's unrealistic for them to feel they can do it like 10-year veterans. That's not what they are," Brady said after the game, via ESPN. "But they're trying hard and they work real hard and they have a lot of skill."
Brady and company face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. ET; the Jets face another division rival, the Buffalo Bills, later that day.
