Steve Gregory hosted his own homecoming party last night, and it was a doozy.
The Patriots safety, a Brooklyn native who starred at Curtis High School in Staten Island, made life miserable for his hometown team last night in the first half of a 49-19 New England rout of the Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Gregory was a one-man tour de force with an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries — one returned for a touchdown — as New England’s much-maligned secondary redeemed itself in what was humiliating fashion for their AFC East rivals.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a game like that, at least that I can remember,” Gregory said. “Some of it was just the ball popping out and being in the right place at the right time, but it was a good one for me. It was fun.”
Gregory’s big night began on the game’s second possession, when he intercepted Mark Sanchez at the Patriots’ 15-yard line to stop a long Jets drive, but it really picked up speed in the second quarter.
That’s when Gregory needed just 56 seconds to play a key role in two New England touchdowns that helped turn a tight game into a blowout and make it a night to remember for the former Syracuse standout.
Gregory’s second-quarter fun began when he ran down a fumble by the Jets’ Shonn Greene on a failed fourth-down run at the New England 31. The Patriots didn’t waste any time converting that into points as Shane Vereen took a short swing pass from Tom Brady on the next play and went 83 yards down the sideline for touchdown that made it 14-0.
Two plays later, Gregory was involved in what will go down as among the funniest plays in NFL history. Sanchez ran into teammate Brandon Moore’s rear end after a broken play and fumbled. Gregory scooped it up and ran untouched 32 yards for the score, and the rout was on.
“I thought he made a real good play on the interception … Steve’s a heady player, a smart player, and he’s very instinctive,” Bill Belichick said after the surging Patriots won their fifth straight and improved to 8-3. “He’s made a lot of those plays for us this year.”
The night was also redemption for Gregory and the Patriots’ secondary, which has been a revolving door much of the season and the target of frequent criticism.
Gregory avoided much of that because of struggles with injuries, returning last week with five tackles in a rout of the Bills before giving the Patriots even more reason for optimism last night.
“It was great to come home and do this,” Gregory said. “It was exciting for me to come play in my backyard, so to speak. That’s what you call a good night.”