Jets-Patriots Game Recap | Heartbreak in New England, 25-22

Inches from the Jets' first season sweep of the New England Patriots since 2000, Rhamondre Stevenson scored a 1-yard game-winning TD with 25 seconds remaining as victory was snatched away from the Green & White, 25-22, in Foxborough, MA, on Sunday afternoon. Despite outgaining the Patriots, 336 to 247, the Jets dropped their fifth consecutive game and fell to 2-6. The Patriots snapped their six-game losing streak and are also 2-6 after eight games.

"We talk about being at our best when our best is required and that was not it," interim HC Jeff Ulbrich said. "That's on coaching, first of all, and then second, we've got to execute, and we did not execute in critical moments. We say that's not who we are, but it's who we are until we demonstrate otherwise."

Backup QB Jacoby Brissett led the Pats to 10 points on their final two drives including a 12-play, 70-yard march that culminated on Stevenson's fourth-down plunge. Brissett kept the drive alive with a 14-yard run on third down and then got the Pats inside the 10 on a 34-yard third-down strike to Kayshon Boutte.

"I'm still stuck on that play," Gardner said. "That's a play that can be made. That's on me. I have to be better, especially when it comes to knowing our fire-zone coverages or something like that.

"I feel like we have to be better. We started off fast. Individually, something I wanted to make sure I was doing better was tackling. I had quite a few tackles [5]. I was just trying to bring the energy. I don't know what happened in the second half. We have to be better. We're definitely not playing up to the standard."

Aaron Rodgers threw 2 TDs, Garrett Wilson had 113 yards receiving and DT Quinnen Williams racked up 1.5 sacks in defeat.

With the Jets trailing, 17-16, Rodgers and Wilson went down the visiting sideline for a critical 22-yard gain. Later, Rodgers went to Davante Adams for 16 yards to get the Jets to the NE 3-yard line. That set up rookie Braelon Allen's rush TD, a bruising 2-yard run with 2:57 remaining. But the team's eighth penalty – a delay of game infraction – on a 2-point conversion attempt pushed Rodgers back and his completion to Mike Williams fell well short of the end zone.

"We had a shift and a motion and by the time it came down to it, the defense they were playing wasn't good for the play that was called," Rodgers said. "I figured let's just move it back to the 7, not that much of a difference. I liked the play that we called, but they brought zero pressure. I guessed wrong, they guessed right."

With the game in their hands at 2:57 on the clock, the Jets defense wasn't able to get a handle on Brissett.

The Jets had a disjointed start, burning three timeouts on offense in the first quarter and having problems with rookie QB Drake Maye's scrambles. But after spotting New England a 7-0 lead, Rodgers answered with short scoring passes to TE Tyler Conklin and WR Xavier Gipson as the Jets took a 13-7 lead into the third quarter.

Trailing by 7-0, the Jets narrowed the gap on Rodgers' 2-yard rope to TE Tyler Conklin who held on despite getting rocked in traffic. Rodgers kept his team's first scoring drive alive with a pair of third-down pass interference penalties on the Patriots, getting 17 yards on a shot to Adams and then 13 yards on an end zone attempt to Breece Hall. Greg Zuerlein's point after attempt went wide left and the deficit was 7-6 heading into the second stanza.

Then Rodgers put the Jets on top for the first time, following a 27-yard connection to Wilson with 1-yard scoring toss to Gipson. It was Gipson's first career TD from scrimmage.

When the Jets defense took the field, veteran MLB C.J. Mosley was on the sideline with a neck injury. The Pats went three-and-out on their first possession, but Maye got the home team going with a 10-play, 77-yard march that ended with the QB calling his own number on a 17-yard scoring run. It was Maye's first rush TD as he had two scrambles on the drive for 28 yards.

But Maye departed in the second quarter with a head injury as he took a shot from Jets LB Jamien Sherwood at the end of an 18-yard scramble. The Jets' 107-9 yardage edge in the second quarter was their largest margin in a road game since 2015 vs. Miami in London.

Marcus Jones gave the Pats life early in the third quarter, returning a Thomas Morstead punt 62 yards to the NYJ 26. Five plays later, Stevenson hammered in from 3 yards out, putting the Pats on top, 14-13.

The seesaw affair continued as the Jets answered. Rodgers dialed long distance to Wilson for 35 yards and the Jets wrapped up their third scoring possession on a 29-yard Zuerlein field goal.

But with the Jets leading by 16-14, they lost a chance to seize command inside the red zone. Two plays following a Hall fumble that was recovered by Conklin, Rodgers was sacked for an 8-yard loss and Zuerlein misfired to the left from 44 yards out. The Patriots responded with a 14-play drive and grabbed the lead on Joey Slye's 23-yard chip shot.

An exchange of TDs ensued, and the Jets were left looking for an answers when the clock expired after Rodgers hit Adams for 16 yards.

"This is a moment of darkness and we understand that the outside world is going to get really loud right now," Ulbrich said. "The only thing I know in life is that when it gets dark and it gets hard, that you work, you point the finger at yourself, you look inward and you figure out what can I do better from an individual standpoint. If we do that collectively, which I believe we will, that's your only opportunity to dig yourself out of this. That's your only opportunity to improve and fix some of these wrongs. That's where we're fortunate -- the character of this locker room, I think they're going to demonstrate who they are."

Jetcetera
QB Aaron Rodgers hit on 17 of 28 for 233 yards with 2 TDs. Conversely, veteran backup Jacoby Brissett, who came on in relief of injured Drake Maye, finished 15 of 24 for 132 yards. Outside of Maye's success on the ground (3-46), the Pats were held to 65 yards on 28 carries… WR Allen Lazard, who leads the Jets with 5 receiving TDs, was a gameday inactive due to a chest injury. … Jake Hanson got the start at RG along the offensive line as Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle) missed his first game this season. The Jets shuffle at safety continued as former Patriots DB Jalen Mills got the start alongside Isaiah Oliver. Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion) didn't dress and Chuck Clark remains on injured reserve…. LB Jamien Sherwood led the defense with 11 tackles. … While the Jets converted 3 of their 5 chances inside the red zone, the Pats finished 3 of 5 inside the 20. … RB Breece Hall rushed for 80 yards, averaging 5 yards per carry. …. The Jets (2-6) have to turn the page quickly as they'll host the AFC South-leading Houston Texans Thursday night at MetLife Stadium.