10 Key Takeaways from the New England Patriots’ Narrow Win Over the New York Jets

A win is a win.

One week removed from a dominant performance, the New England Patriots (4-2) were primed to re-enter AFC East divisional play with an even stronger showing against the New York Jets (2-4). Key starters returning on both sides of the ball positioned New England in the driver’s seat from the moment the opening whistle blew. But instead of conceding defeat, they were greeted by an immovable object in New York — and narrowly escaped with a 26-19 victory. 

Here are 10 key takeaways from the Patriots’ tightly-contested win over the Jets:

One of the most closely monitored situations for New England throughout the week was the potential return of A.J. Brown. The All-Pro wide receiver was designated to return from injured reserve and activated to the 53-man roster on Saturday, and took the field with the first-team offense when the action was underway.

Unfortunately for Brown, that’s where his highlights ended — and where the growing pains of acclimating to a new offense began.

Drake Maye looked to involve Brown early and often, but without much success to show for it. His first passing attempt targeted Brown on an in-breaking route just past the first down marker on a short 3rd-and-2, but linebacker DeMario Davis was quick to swat down the pass at the line of scrimmage and force a three-and-out. Maye went right back to Brown on the first play of the Patriots’ second possession, rolling outside of the pocket to his left and throwing back to his big-bodied receiver on a crossing route for a gain of eight yards.

The play was challenged and overturned to an incompletion after a questionable review process.

On New England’s third possession, Maye targeted Brown on a deep shot down the right sideline. Brown appeared to generate plenty of separation from cornerback Azareye'h Thomas to make the catch, but the ball went right through his hands and fell to the turf.

Brown finally registered his first reception on the first play after the two-minute warning, hauling in a short crossing route for a gain of nine yards before being corralled and brought down. Maye looked back his way on the ensuing 3rd-and-4, but the throw was offline on Brown’s slant route.

After five targets, Brown had one reception for nine yards and two drops in his first snaps since Week 1. And it didn’t get much better from there.

Maye connected with Brown twice more in the game, but it took another five targets to do so. At the beginning of the third quarter, Brown’s inefficiencies — a drop on slant route on 3rd-and-5 and a broken-up pass on a hitch on the ensuing fourth down — cost the Patriots’ points that could have put the Jets away in a then 17-3 ballgame just outside of field goal range.

When New York was making one final push at a comeback attempt after trimming the New England lead to 26-19, Brown dropped the ball on an onside kick attempt. The fumble was quickly recovered by DeMario Douglas to preserve the win.

On the day, Brown totaled 10 targets and brought in just three receptions for 27 yards with four drops. He had a passer rating when targeted of 39.6.

Not an ideal start for the top-option in his first full game with the team, but Maye's affinity for looking to Brown shows promise for a brighter future once he gets his sea legs under him.

It took Maye some time to find his rhythm amidst the struggles he experienced with Brown and a commanding first quarter from New York in time of possession. Through one period, Maye only attempted three passes and completed one — for a 42-yard touchdown.

In the second quarter, he missed Douglas high and away on a 3rd-and-6 comeback route just past the first down marker to cut a drive short, then nearly avoided disaster on a hit by Will McDonald IV — Maye flipped the ball forward and incomplete on a play that was close to being a backwards lateral and live ball.

Then, the sleeping giant awakened on New England’s two-minute drive to end the first half. After experiencing limited success earlier in the half, Maye erupted — completing 5-of-7 passing attempts with 61 yards and a touchdown to Douglas, extending the Patriots’ lead to 17-3 before the halftime break.

On the drive, New York resorted to a tendency they broke for the vast majority of the first half: blitzing. Entering Week 6, the Jets blitzed at the fourth-highest rate of any team in the NFL (40.6%, per SūmerSports), but had not sent more than four rushers at Maye to that point. 

Maye gashed the exposed secondary on two consecutive completions to Hunter Henry against the blitz, then again on a completion to Douglas that moved the ball inside the New York 10-yard-line before the score. His excellence against the blitz has been a developing storyline for New England over the past three weeks; in the Patriots' last two games, Maye completed 18-of-27 attempts (66.7% completion percentage) with 284 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 138.5 against the blitz. 

His fortitude would be tested against pressure once more in the second half, as New York’s blitz rate skyrocketed to 57.5% (per PFF). In large part, he delivered. Maye ended his day 8-of-15 against the blitz with 148 yards, one touchdown, and a passer rating of 109.9 against the blitz. 

An under-developed rapport with Brown and two offensive turnovers in the second half hurt New England’s overall offensive efficiency in the game, but those weren’t reflective metrics of Maye’s performance on Sunday.

When targeting receivers aside from Brown, Maye completed 15-of-22 passes with 208 passing yards, three touchdowns, and a passer rating of 137.9. In total, he completed 18-of-32 passes with 235 yards, three touchdowns, and a passer rating of 110.8. He did not take a sack, nor commit a turnover or turnover-worthy play. He added 24 yards rushing on four attempts, including a 21-yard gain in the third quarter. It was Maye’s seventh-career rush of 20-plus yards. 

Maye’s three touchdown passes mark his third consecutive game with at least three touchdown passes — the longest streak of his career and the first time since Tom Brady (2014) that a quarterback has accomplished the feat for the franchise. His 42-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter was his 10th 30-plus yard touchdown pass since the beginning of the 2025 season — the most in the NFL. 

Maye has continued to compound impressive weekly showings after a difficult stretch to start the season, and was a bright spot for the Patriots in an otherwise forgettable day offensively.

New England’s supporting cast was one of many highlights in the team’s Week 5 win, with the exception of Romeo Doubs — who registered just one catch and 16 receiving yards while a plethora of other pass catchers had career days.

Doubs flipped the script early against the Jets. He scored on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Maye to put the Patriots’ first points on the scoreboard, beating cornerback Brandon Stephens on a post route over-the-top and laying out to haul in the pass in the end zone. It was Doubs’ longest-career touchdown reception, but unfortunately, that would be his only chance to make an impact on the game. Doubs injured his shoulder on the catch and did not return.

Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III saw an increased snap share in Doubs’ absence, but it was DeMario Douglas who was targeted most frequently. While Maye’s connection was slow to build with Brown, his increasing trust in Douglas was a defining aspect of Sunday’s victory.

Douglas starred with season-highs in targets (eight), receptions (seven) and yards (86), and scored a touchdown with 14 seconds remaining in the first half to put the Patriots up 17-3 before halftime. It wasn’t all positive for Douglas, who did fumble on a 39-yard gain in the fourth quarter, but he rectified that error with an onside kick recovery later in the game. After weeks of underwhelming showings to begin the season, he’s begun to heat up over the last two contests, and it’s shown in the stat sheet and the win column for New England.

Hunter Henry was also a reliable target for Maye throughout Sunday’s victory. He was frequently targeted as a checkdown option against the blitzed, and totaled four receptions on five targets, 48 yards, and reached the end zone for the third consecutive game with a third quarter touchdown that capped off a 12-play, 68-yard drive. 

Henry’s score was his 28th as a Patriot, tying Russ Francis for the third-most touchdowns by a tight end in franchise history. On his 16-yard reception in the second quarter, he passed Francis (3,157) for third-most receiving yards in franchise history and currently sits at 3,198 yards.

Improving with each passing week, New England’s rushing attack surpassed 140 yards rushing for the third straight game against New York. Unlike their previous outings, that took a much different form — especially when they looked to drain the clock late.

Rhamondre Stevenson resumed his duties as the Patriots’ primary back to begin the game, and he had several notable moments in the first half. He converted on a 4th-and-1 attempt in the second quarter, then squirted out of a pile of bodies for a gain of 12 on New England’s next third down attempt. The Patriots’ next play was a patented Josh McDaniels double-pass: Maye tossed to Stevenson right, Stevenson threw back to Maye left, and Maye hit Douglas on a crossing route for a gain of 10.

By the game’s end, Stevenson led all New England running backs with 14 carries, but lacked efficiency behind a banged-up offensive line. He only gained 36 yards rushing and averaged 2.6 yards per carry, and was usurped by other backs in the second half.

TreVeyon Henderson, who played through a high ankle sprain, was limited in his usage, but made a lasting impression for the wrong reasons. 

He lost a fumble on the Patriots’ second drive of the third quarter, caused by edge rusher David Bailey and recovered by linebacker Jamien Sherwood. Mike Vrabel fed him the ball on New England’s next drive as a show of confidence, and he did bounce back with a gain of six yards up-the-gut and a gain of eight yards on a jet sweep off of the left side. Those would be Henderson’s final touches of the day, however. He totaled seven carries and 31 yards rushing (4.4 yards per carry) with one reception, nine yards receiving, and the fumble.

Henderson’s turnover paved the way for more significant contributions from Corey Kiner in the fourth quarter — and he ended up starring for the Patriots late. 

With 7:20 remaining in the fourth quarter and New England clinging to a 23-16 lead, Kiner took over as the primary back in an offensive scheme that heavily featured 13 personnel. On the 13-play, 51-yard drive that ate up 6:08, Kiner was called upon on eight consecutive rushing attempts (including 13 personnel on six straight plays) and gained 42 yards. He finished the game with 11 rushing attempts and a team-high 57 rushing yards (5.2 yards per carry), helping the Patriots seal the win.

Kiner’s 57 yards also set a career-high mark for the second-year pro, breaking his previous mark of 52 — set last week against the Las Vegas Raiders. His increased involvement has helped a struggling rushing attack find more consistency, and provided a needed change-of-pace from Stevenson and Henderson.

As a team, New England rushed for 148 yards on 36 attempts — an average of 4.1 yards per carry and their third straight game over 140 yards (165 yards in Week 5, 143 yards in Week 4). It certainly hasn't been perfect, but the volume and totals have given the team a balanced approach that wasn't a prior strength. And they've done so with a revolving door of blockers leading the way.

Entering Sunday, the Patriots ranked second in the NFL with 11 unique offensive line combinations through the first five games of the regular season.

That count is now at 13.

New England lost Morgan Moses (ankle), Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring), and Ben Brown (knee) to injury against the Jets. By the fourth quarter, their guards were Walter Rouse (left guard) and Matt Pryor (right guard) — two players that were added on cutdown day or later. Less than favorable conditions against a New York defensive front that had an affinity for sending additional rushers — and yet, the Patriots’ final reserves on the bench held up extraordinarily well.

After a standout performance in relief of Will Campbell at left tackle in Week 5, Caleb Lomu flipped sides and played even better at right tackle on Sunday. On 30 pass blocking snaps, Lomu allowed no pressures, recorded a pass-blocking grade of 83.6, and registered a pass-blocking efficiency grade of 100.0, per PFF. He was matched up against Bailey — who ranked top-five in the NFL with 5.0 sacks entering game day — throughout, and made the highlight reel by putting the No. 2 overall pick into the turf on Maye’s second quarter touchdown pass to Douglas.

Campbell returned to the lineup earlier than expected after reportedly suffering a right MCL sprain last week, and looked to be back to his early-season form. The second-year standout was the Patriots’ highest-graded blocker with a 64.7 offensive grade and 83.7 pass-blocking grade, and allowed just one pressure on 35 pass-blocking snaps with a pass-blocking efficiency grade of 98.6.

Pryor (79.8 pass-blocking grade) and Rouse (78.1 pass-blocking grade) also held up well in protection. Facing a New York front that blitzed on 48.6% of New England’s total dropbacks, the Patriots’ offensive line allowed pressure on 40.0% of plays and Maye was not sacked. It was the first time that New York failed to record a sack this season; the Jets previously ranked third in the NFL with 17 sacks.

New England will need to find answers behind Rouse and Pryor along the interior on short notice, but if they’re forced into the starting lineup on Thursday night, the team should enter with confidence based on their Sunday showings.

The Patriots’ defensive line was dominant at the point of attack one week ago, and looked ahead to Sunday’s matchup against the Jets as an opportunity to continue that trend. It didn’t take long for them to make a notable impact on the game.

New York dominated time of possession in the first quarter, holding onto the football for 13:11 and gaining eight first downs to New England’s one in the game’s opening stanza. Braelon Allen rushed the ball eight times for 48 yards (6.0 yards per carry) — but that production would soon fall off. He finished the game with 17 rushes for 78 yards, and totaled nine rushes for 30 yards (3.3 yards per carry) after the first quarter.

The Patriots’ defensive front corrected course with continued excellence in short yardage situations. At the beginning of the second quarter, they stonewalled Allen shy of the first down marker on a 4th-and-1 conversion attempt at the New England 28-yard-line. After allowing the Jets to run down to the 39-yard-line on their next possession, they did so once again — stopping Geno Smith short on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak attempt.

Leading the way up-front, Milton Williams showed up early and often. On New York’s opening possession, he penetrated deep into the backfield on a 3rd-and-1 rushing attempt by Isaiah Davis, but failed to stop the attempt short of first down yardage. He atoned for the miss soon thereafter with a sack on the Jets’ second drive to force a long 3rd-and-16 — where Christian Barmore also joined the party. 

Barmore won his assignment over right guard Joe Tippmann in dominant fashion, bursting into the backfield for another sack on the next play to force a punt. The back-to-back sacks from the Patriots’ dominant interior duo set New England up at the Jets’ 42-yard-line to begin their second drive — and they’d score two plays later.

The interior defensive line made their presence felt early, but New England’s edge rushers would make the difference late. 

Elijah Ponder's third quarter sack stalled a potential game-tying drive for New York — occurring on 3rd-and-5 at New England 10-yard-line in a 17-10 game. It was Ponder’s fifth consecutive game with at least a half-sack, the longest streak since Josh Uche in 2022 and two games shy of Andre Tippett’s 1984 franchise record of seven straight games. Ponder now has 5.5 sacks on the season — tied for third in the NFL.

Gabe Jacas also made a notable impact with a run stuff after the Patriots took a 10-point fourth quarter lead. He recorded one hurry and registered a team-high 23.1% pass-rush win-rate on the day (per PFF).

As a unit, New England paired an aggressive blitzing front (on 54.5% of dropbacks) with a heavy use of man coverage (35.5%) to constantly change the picture and slow Smith’s processing.

Even though they only generated pressure on 30.8% of Smith’s passing attempts, they succeeded in limiting the effectiveness of New York’s dropback passing game. Most of Smith’s production came off of play action, and he was largely neutralized as a dropback passer against a multiple Patriots’ defense that brought rushers from several different angles.

The Jets’ greatest highlight came on a play-action boot to rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who got lost on a post route over the top of Craig Woodson for a 48-yard touchdown that trimmed New England’s lead to 17-10 on New York’s first possession of the third quarter. 

Cooper, like Brown, was just activated off of injured reserve after a Week 1 injury forced him to miss the last four games. It was his first career touchdown reception, and an explosive play that the Patriots’ defense has rarely given up in the secondary this season. He finished with a game-high 103 receiving yards on six receptions and the score.

Smith concluded his day 7-of-7 passing off of play action with 126 yards and one touchdown. Without play action, he was just 13-of-23 passing with 126 yards and an interception — his first of the season.

Charles Woods was on the receiving end of Smith’s turnover, and it was also a first for the cornerback. Woods’ first career interception broke Smith's streak of 165 passing attempts without a pick, which was a career-best for the quarterback after leading the league with 17 interceptions last year.

New England’s defense didn’t completely lock down Smith and the Jets’ offense, but they came up with key plays when they were needed most — holding New York to 3-of-10 on third down, 0-of-2 on fourth down, 0-of-3 in the red zone, and forcing the fourth quarter interception to maintain the lead late.

As expected, Christian Gonzalez shadowed Garrett Wilson in coverage throughout Sunday’s matchup — enabling the Patriots to return to a man-coverage dependent scheme that worked to near-perfection.

Wilson’s lone reception on an extensive opening drive for the Jets came on a cornerback blitz by Gonzalez, as Smith hung in the pocket and found the receiver sitting in the soft spot of zone coverage over the middle of the field for 15 yards.

He was targeted a second time against New England’s zone in the red zone, but double coverage from Marcus Jones and Kevin Byard III helped the play fall harmlessly incomplete. Byard showed up again on the Jets’ 3rd-and-20 shot toward the end zone, roaming over the top of the third level to cut across the field and break up a pass intended for tight end Mason Taylor near the goal line.

New York settled for three points after mounting a 13 play, 48-yard drive that spanned 6:43 to open the game.

Wilson’s third target of the game didn’t come until the fourth quarter: he beat Byard in Cover 2 for a 3rd-and-5 conversion, then started to heat up. He later won against Gonzalez on a slant route against man-coverage, and finished the game with four receptions and 44 yards receiving. 

It was too little, too late for Wilson in another decisive victory for Gonzalez.

Previously, Gonzalez had allowed eight catches on 14 targets for 51 yards and a touchdown to Wilson in two head-to-head matchups. On Sunday, Gonzalez was in direct coverage on 17 routes against Wilson and allowed two receptions for 20 yards, per PFF. 

Gonzalez returned to the lineup on Sunday with the most difficult individual matchup to win, and once again showed that he’s one of the league’s premier lockdown cornerbacks in the process.

For better and worse, New England’s special teams units were also heavily involved in the Patriots’ victory over the Jets.

On the brighter side, special teams ace Brenden Schooler looks to be rounding back into form after beginning the season on the Non-Football-Injury (NFI) list and returning to the lineup last week. He registered three special teams tackles on the day — his fifth career game with three-plus tackles and his first since New England’s Week 6 win over the New Orleans Saints last fall.

Undrafted rookie linebacker Erick Hunter also continued to be a positive on special teams. He downed a punt inside Jets’ 3-yard-line off of a 54-yard boot by Mitch Wishnowsky in the second quarter.

On kickoff, third-string tight end Cameron Latu laid a huge hit on New York kick returner Kane Nwaganwu with under two minutes remaining in the first half. In addition to his offensive contributions, Corey Kiner also made a notable impact as a kick returner. He brought back three kicks for 88 yards (29.3 yards per return), including a 37-yard return to open the second half.

Then, there’s Andy Borregales. After missing three kicks in the preseason opener and two during the first three weeks of the regular season, Borregales missed an extra point wide left in the fourth quarter on Sunday — the same direction of each of his previous misses this fall. That kick would have put the Patriots up by 11 points. Instead, the lead stayed put at 10, and continued a trend of shaky performances from New England’s lone option in the room.

Entering Sunday, the tenor surrounding the Patriots’ injury woes was of a much different variety than in recent weeks: positivity.

A.J. Brown and Christian Gonzalez were both rejoining the team, and the surprise additions of TreVeyon Henderson and Will Campbell placed New England in a position of strength on both sides of the ball that had not been present as of late.

Then, the action kicked off, and the team’s continued misfortune on the injury front returned.

Romeo Doubs (shoulder), Morgan Moses (ankle), Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring), and Ben Brown (knee) all exited the game and were ruled out. Dre’Mont Jones was also briefly sidelined with a left knee injury, but worked his way back onto the field shortly after.

Like their most recent performances, the Patriots were able to adapt to changing game situations and an evolving rotation of available players. But they’re now reaching the point where they’re running out of fresh bodies to field, roster spots to fill, and designations to return from injured reserve. 

Difficult decisions will have to be made on these injured players in the coming days, with depth becoming an even more dire priority on a short week.

New England overcame a turbulent showing in all three phases of the game to emerge victorious against New York on Sunday. In doing so, they took a two-game lead over the Jets — and stayed within one-game of the Buffalo Bills (5-1) — in the race for the AFC East. Still, the resistance New York was able to muster against a much stronger opponent created several questions that the Patriots will need to work diligently to answer. 

On a short week of operations, New England will travel to square-off with Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears (4-2) on Thursday Night Football in just three days' time.

What were your takeaways from the Patriots’ win over the Jets on Sunday? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.

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