The Patriots didn’t exactly light it up Sunday against the Jets, but they did enough in every phase to walk out with a 26-19 win. What stood out was how the game kept turning on isolated plays - sacks, fourth-down stops, field position flips, and a few timely completions from Drake Maye.
New England’s first real push came after the defense steadied itself following a slow start. The Patriots had already fallen behind 3-0 when Milton Williams and Christian Barmore came through with back-to-back sacks on the Jets’ second possession, forcing a punt from deep in New York territory.
Marcus Jones then added to the turnaround with a 10-yard return, and a 5-yard penalty helped set the offense up at the Jets’ 42-yard line. Maye needed just two snaps to cash it in, connecting on a 42-yard touchdown to Romeo Doubs.
Doubs was injured on the play and eventually left the game, while A.J. Brown helped create the opening by drawing a safety away from the middle of the field.
The second quarter belonged to fourth downs. Robert Spillane stopped a 4th-and-1 with a tackle early in the period, and later the Patriots defense delivered another stop at its own 39-yard line. The offense then answered by converting its own 4th-and-1 with Rhamondre Stevenson before finishing the series with a field goal and a 10-3 lead.
New England then polished off the first half with a key score in the final seconds. With 20 seconds left and facing 3rd-and goal from the 9, Maye hit DeMario Douglas for a touchdown. That made it 17-3 at the break, even if the Patriots weren’t able to keep control of the game the way they wanted after halftime.
The Jets pushed back in the third quarter, but the Patriots’ defense kept them out of the end zone. New England finished the day 0-for-3 in the red zone, and one of the biggest stops came when Elijah Ponder dropped Geno Smith on 3rd-and-5, denying New York from getting any closer to tying the game.
Maye also delivered a critical answer early in the fourth quarter. On 3rd-and-10, he found Kyle Williams for 12 yards to keep a drive alive, and that set up a 7-yard touchdown toss to Hunter Henry on 3rd-and-3. The score pushed the Patriots ahead 23-13, though they missed the extra point.
The final blow came on the game’s closing possession. After the Jets pulled within 23-16, New England took over with 7:20 left and strung together a 13-play, 56-yard drive that ended with another field goal and a 10-point cushion.
Corey Kiner did most of the work, touching the ball on eight straight plays and carrying the Patriots from the Jets’ 48 all the way to the 6. Hunter Henry helped keep the march alive with a 15-yard catch on 3rd-and-13 with 6:30 remaining.
The drive chewed up 6:08 and left the Jets with only 1:12 to try to respond, even with New England missing three starting offensive linemen.
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