The New England Patriots took a 26-19 win over the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. Drake Maye went 18-for-32 for 235 passing yards and three touchdowns, while adding 24 yards on the ground. Geno Smith put together 252 yards through the air on 20-for-30 passing, with a touchdown and an interception. Patriots’ third-string running back Kiner managed to lead all Patriots running backs with 57 yards on 11 carries. The Jets got a lot of usage from Braelon Allen, who rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries, with two receptions for 26 yards as well.
Jets rookie wideout Omar Cooper Jr. led all receivers with 103 yards on six catches and a touchdown. For New England, Demario Douglas notched seven catches and 86 yards with a touchdown. The Jets went 3-for-10 on third-down conversions, while going 0-for-2 on fourth down. New England went 8-for-15 on third downs, while converting one of their two fourth-down conversions.
A.J. Brown returned to action for the first time since his high ankle sprain in week one against the Seattle Seahawks, and the Patriots wasted very little time giving Brown opportunities to make plays. Brown got 10 targets over the course of the game, which is to be expected of a receiver of Brown’s caliber. However, he only hauled in three receptions and had three drops in this game. Two of his drops came on back-to-back plays, the second resulting in a turnover on downs. At the very end of the game, when the Jets went for an onside kick, it proceeded to go through his hands before Douglas recovered it.
However, Brown was taken off the IR earlier this week and was a limited participant in all three of his practices this week. Much like how Drake Maye needed a few weeks to get back to form after not playing a snap in the preseason, it’s very possible Brown just needs more practice time to get back to his previous form.
The Patriots have a startling number of injuries on their roster, and this game only added to it, as four players left the game due to injury. Romeo Doubs suffered a shoulder injury during his touchdown reception in the first quarter. However, the offensive line took the biggest hit. Firstly, Morgan Moses went down with an ankle injury. Next, it was Alijah Vera-Tucker who went down with an injury to his hamstring. Lastly, Ben Brown, who had to shift to left guard in place of Vera-Tucker, got rolled up on in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots have already cycled through four separate guys to start in each of the guard spots this season, with Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse becoming the fifth and sixth guys to play guard for New England this season. Mike Onwenu and Greg Van Roten both reside on the Injured reserve list. Will Campbell went into this contest as a game-time decision due to a knee injury. The Patriots have dealt with major injury problems throughout the entire year, and this week was no different.
Despite the aforementioned injuries, the Patriots scraped through and managed to pull out a win. Not only did the offensive line not allow a sack to the Jets, but the biggest example of their grit was on their final drive, which resulted in a 27-yard field goal. TreVeyon Henderson received very few reps in the game after his fumble in the third quarter. However, Rhamondre Stevenson wasn’t the one to get the extra playing time. On the 13-play, 51-yard drive, their last nine plays were runs, with third-string running back Corey Kiner receiving eight of them. Stevenson only managed 36 yards on 14 carries, resulting in 2.6 yards per carry, while Henderson had 31 yards on seven carries.
The defense also came through at critical times. After Maye’s third touchdown of the game to tight end Hunter Henry, they forced Smith’s interception. Despite three trips into the red zone by New York, all three drives ended with field goals as opposed to touchdowns. That doesn’t include the two times when Jets head coach Aaron Glenn went for it on 4th down, which resulted in turnovers on downs both times. The defense bent in certain parts, but only broke once, that being the 48-yard touchdown catch by Cooper.
The Patriots’ 26-19 win over the Jets didn’t come without struggles. In fact, New York were never out of this game despite being down 17-3 going into halftime, rallying to put some pressure on New England. Despite this, the Patriots rallied to secure the win and bring themselves to 4-2 this season. The Patriots have very little time to rest, as they head to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football. The Jets will look to rebound as they head back home to MetLife Stadium to take on another AFC East rival in the Miami Dolphins.
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