Patriots

"I’m sure there are a few throws Zach wants back."

Jim Davis/Globe Staff
Mac Jones (10) and Damien Harris were among the talking points after the Patriots' victory Sunday.

By The Boston Globe

Here is a selection of comments from players and coaches on both sides after the Patriots beat the Jets at the Meadowlands.

Damien Harris on his spectacular 26-yard touchdown run:

“Obviously, every time you touch the ball you want to get it in the box. It was a great play, everybody was blocking their butts off — got a lot of help from a lot of guys. Apparently, I got some help from Mac Jones, too. It was a great play, and it was just great to have that moment with the team.

Bill Belichick on his team’s win:

“I thought these guys came back and really worked hard all week, and I thought we made some improvement from what we did last week. Still obviously have a way to go, a lot of things we can do better, but I thought we did a lot of things better than we did them last week. So, we just need to keep grinding.”

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Devin McCourty on how the Patriots made life miserable for Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson:

“You’ve got to create turnovers and we did a good job of that early in the game and that had a big impact on the game. “When you can start off getting an interception on the second play, it makes it tough for the offense.

Wilson on if he felt he was pressing:

“I wouldn’t say pressing. I felt like there was a lack of rhythm and I think it’s obviously because when your first two passes are interceptions it’s tough to find that rhythm, you’re not on the field much, all of a sudden the first quarter’s over and we’ve only had a couple plays out there on the field. We’ve got to start better. I’ve got to start better.’’

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Belichick on dependable veteran James White:

“James is one of our best players. He shows tremendous consistency. He’s going to do whatever we ask him to do. Third down, first down, run the ball, catch the ball, blitz pickup. He gives that group great leadership with his preparation and then his performance.’’

Jones on helping push the pile on Harris’s touchdown:

“Yeah, I think we wanted to score, everybody was down there pushing, and my job is to make sure nothing bad happens and try to be by the ball, but maybe I should just stay back [laughs].”

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Nick Folk on kicking in a swirling wind:

“Playing here seven years, and that was one of the toughest ones we’ve had out here. Especially, their tunnel, the right of our bench, it was pretty tricky out there.”

Jones on his ball security:

I put the ball on the ground twice. In terms of that, just trying to learn from that. I’m going to get better at that and just ways to practice. Whatever it is, someone hitting the ball during practice. In practice we don’t hit the quarterback, but there’s going to be ways that we can implement that to improve.

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J.C. Jackson (two picks) on the Patriots defense creating turnovers:

“You make plays, and your teammates feed off of you, that’s what defense is all about. Don’t wait on nobody to make plays, just go out there, set the tone and hopefully your teammates feed off that.”

Jets coach Robert Saleh on what he said to Wilson after the game:

“Just to believe in himself and shake this one off. I promised him that it would not be the hardest game he’s every played. He just has to pick himself up and get ready for the next one.

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Belichick on his quarterback throwing a block and pushing the pile:

“And [Zach] Wilson made a play on the interception. I mean those are both really competitive kids. I like Mac’s competitiveness. He brings a lot there.”

Saleh on if the Patriots defense threw new wrinkles at Wilson that he had not seen before:

“No. They do a good job. They are one of the best man-cover teams in football. I’m sure there are a few throws Zach wants back. There was nothing schematically that our offense was not prepared for.”