EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- You can understand why it happened in San Francisco, Tom Brady's hometown. And you could see the reasons for why Patriots fans worked themselves into a nice lather in Cleveland to see Brady's return from a four-game suspension.
But Jersey? Really, Jersey?
During the fourth quarter of a Brady-led Patriots 22-17 victory over the Jets, there were enough New England fans present that there were audible "BRA-DY, BRA-DAY, BRA-DY" chants ringing through MetLife Stadium.
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"I hear it every single week no matter where we are so it's nothing new to me," Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett said. "No matter if it's San Francisco, East Coast, West Coast, Northwest, Northeast. They're just chanting Brady no matter where we go . . . We're the Patriots. We travel well."
Too well for the liking of at least one player who was surprised at the dearth of Jets fans in attendance.
New England Patriots
"It's tough," Jets receiver Quincy Enunwa told WEEI.com's Ryan Hannable. "But I know as a fan, you know, it's hard to support when your team is not playing the way you want them to. I don't blame them, but at the same time, it would be great if we could have more of our fans in our home stadium."
Though Patriots fans have traveled well for much of the season -- perhaps helping their team to a 6-0 road record this year -- Patriots defensive end Chris Long was caught off-guard by just how many were packed into the stands behind his team's bench after he made a game-sealing strip-sack late in the fourth quarter.
He went over to the Patriots sideline immediately after causing the turnover and put a finger to his lips as if to hush the crowd.
"It's funny," he said. "I was telling people to be quiet, but I heard all Patriots fans cheering because we travel so well and we got such great fans."