The Patriots had a chance.
They actually had plenty, a new one coming each time the New York Jets blew theirs.
So taking the ball down five with 2:57 to play, Jacoby Brissett marched his team down the field.
He scrambled for 14 yards on third-and-9 to keep the drive alive, finding receiver Kayshon Boutte for 34 yards soon after on third-and-10 to set up first-and-goal.
With Rhamondre Stevenson’s 1-yard touchdown and two-point conversion catch, the Patriots were 22 seconds away from snapping their five-game losing streak and upsetting the Jets despite losing quarterback Drake Maye in the second quarter.
And New England did just that, sealing a 25-22 win to improve to 2-6 while their division rivals fell to 2-6.
This wasn’t a loss in which the Jets played good football but ultimately ran out of time or missed the luck they needed.
The Jets’ fifth straight loss reflected a routinely sloppy day for a team whose desperation has showed all year as their expected Super Bowl window with quarterback Aaron Rodgers shrinks rapidly.
The Jets’ offense couldn’t finish drives, its special teams surrendered a 62-yard punt in addition to a missed field goal and missed extra point, and the defense did less to stop the Patriots’ attack than New England’s receivers’ dropped passes did.
Five weeks after the Jets beat the Patriots 24-3, a New York team that had executed three dramatic moves to improve its fortunes floundered against a team that not only is rebuilding but also was without its starting quarterback for close to three quarters.
The Jets have yet to show the spark of momentum they hoped for after firing Robert Saleh, changing offensive play callers from Nathaniel Hackett to Todd Downing and trading for receiver Davante Adams. They have yet to even glimpse the championship caliber they expected when bringing a four-time MVP quarterback to the building for the sunset of his career.
Instead, a Jets team that has screamed its win-now intentions just lost to a team very clearly undergoing a rebuild.
Jets’ late go-ahead drive, like their performance, not enough
New York looked like it could eke out an ugly win with a late go-ahead drive.
Rodgers hit Garrett Wilson for his fourth pass of 20-plus yards with 4:44 to play, Breece Hall moving the ball on two carries to the red zone. Rodgers then found Adams for 16 yards, setting up rookie running back Braelon Allen for the 2-yard go-ahead touchdown in the final three minutes of play.
But the Jets went for the two-point conversion.
The strategy was defensible, as a 7-point lead would change the scoring calculus the Patriots would need to catch, much less beat, the Jets. There was a contextual defense, too: Kicker Greg Zuerlein had made just one of two extra-point attempts and one of two field-goal attempts in the latest edition of his multi-week slump.
So when the Jets drew yet another delay-of-game penalty, they still tried the two-point attempt despite its need to now traverse seven yards instead of two.
But they missed it.
And like the rest of their penalty- and mistake-ridden day, they missed an opportunity to beat a team with far less talent, investment and health.
Patriots lost quarterback, still beat Jets
The Jets’ defense, which has shown a higher ceiling this season than its offense, struggled for the third straight game since team owner Woody Johnson fired Saleh.
Saleh had called plays for a defense that ranked top-four each of two prior years.
And while the Patriots watched dropped pass after dropped pass hamper their game Sunday, Maye gashed New York twice early.
The 2024 third overall draft pick rushed for a 17-yard touchdown to put the Patriots on the scoreboard first, and for 18 yards on a keeper with 1:09 to play in the first quarter.
But Maye took a helmet hit on the latter, finishing the drive before entering the blue medical tent. A subsequent evaluation in the Patriots’ locker room determined Maye had suffered a concussion in this third pro start. Brissett entered the game.
The injury arguably reflected concerns for Maye playing at all this season, in a year when the Patriots had neither the offensive line to protect him nor the skill players to produce a functioning offense. Maye was impressive in elevating the passing game and deep passing especially despite the circumstances. But ultimately, as the Jets defense limited that, Maye resorted to scrambles including the one that knocked him out of the game.
Brissett finished the game 15 of 24 passing for 132 yards, in addition to 11 net yards on three carries.
Stevenson rushed 20 times for 48 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Jets, Rodgers completed 17 of 28 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
Several deep passes to Wilson were the day’s highlight, Wilson catching five of eight targets for 113 yards as Patriots top cornerback Christian Gonzalez devoted attention to Adams.
The Jets now sit at the bottom of the AFC East in a year they were expected to contend for it.