FOXBOROUGH — Another week, another game in which the Jets could not end their long losing streak
Rhamondre Stevenson‘s one-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds and his two-point conversion gave the Patriots (2-6) a 25-22 victory over the Jets (2-6) on a sunny afternoon at Gillette Stadium. The loss was the Jets’ fifth in a row, and they haven’t won since their Sept. 19 game against the Patriots on Thursday Night Football.
The Patriots ended their six-game losing streak with the victory.
Aaron Rodgers had a pedestrian day after completing 17-of-28 passes for 217 yards. However, he did complete two touchdown passes to Tyler Conklin and Xavier Gipson.
Jets running back Breece Hall finished with 79 rushing yards on 16 carries. Garrett Wilson registered five catches for 113 yards.
In his second game after he was traded from the Raiders, Davante Adams registered two catches for 22 yards.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye started the game and finished 3-of-6 for 23 yards and a touchdown run. However, he was ruled out with a concussion after a hit he suffered in the second quarter.
Jacoby Brissett came in for Maye, and the Patriots began using a run-heavy offense. But in the second half, Brissett and the Patriots began opening the playbook up. He ended the day 10-of-15 for 80 yards.
Sunday marked the first game for Haason Reddick, who ended his holdout last week following a contract dispute with the team. He was traded to the Jets in late March but only visited the facility once before missing mandatory minicamp, all of training camp and the first seven games of the season.
Reddick didn’t start on the Jets defensive line, but played a lot in second and third-down situations. On Quinnen Williams‘ second-quarter sack on Maye, Reddick helped bring the rookie down to force a third-and-long situation.
Down by a point late in the fourth quarter, the Jets drove right down the field after being helped by Hall, who had a 22-yard catch and a 13-yard run. That helped Braelon Allen score on a two-yard touchdown run with 2:57 remaining.
New England got the ball back with a chance to win it. Brissett’s 34-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte put the Patriots on the nine-yard line.
The Patriots got to the Jets’ one-yard-line following another Boutte completion.
After both teams went three and out to begin the game, New England got on the board first on its second drive. After using the rushing attack to generate yards down the field, Maye ran past fellow ex-Tar Heel linebacker Chazz Surratt and scored a touchdown on a 17-yard run to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead.
The first quarter was a comedy of errors for the Jets. They used all three of their timeouts, and a delay of game was called against them on a fourth-down play in Patriots territory. But after two pass interference calls set them up on the two-yard line, the Jets found the end zone after Conklin completed a contested catch to make the score 7-6.
However, kicker Greg Zuerlein missed the extra point and a 44-yard field goal, adding to his recent struggles. He has missed four field goals and an extra point in the last three games.
Despite an inauspicious start on both sides of the ball, the Jets took the lead in the second quarter after Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson nabbed a 27-yard catch to put the Jets on the one-yard line. Following Wison’s explosive play, Jets wide receiver Gipson made a one-yard catch that gave the Jets a 13-7 lead at halftime.
Gang Green received the ball to begin the second half and quickly went three-and-out. That’s when Marcus Jones‘ 62-yard punt return put New England on the Jets’ 26-yard-line. Jones’ long return translated into a Stevenson’s three-yard touchdown run that gave them a 14-13 lead.
The Jets responded and got the ball down to the Patriots’ 11-yard line. But on 4th-and-1, Zuerlein converted a 29-yard field goal that gave Gang Green a 16-14 lead. After both teams went back and forth punting the ball, the Patriots got inside the Jets’ five-yard line, but Joey Slye kicked a 23-yard field goal that put them up 17-16 with 7:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Gang Green took a 22-17 lead following Allen’s touchdown run but missed the two-point conversion due to a delay of game penalty, and Rodgers’ pass to Mike Williams was short of the end zone.
New England responded and scored a touchdown with 22 seconds left on a Stevenson run, extending the Jets’ losing streak to five games.
Mystically, Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley did not start the game. Minutes after kickoff, the Jets reported that Mosley suffered a neck injury. He did not take a single snap and was ruled out in the third quarter. It is unclear when Mosley sustained the injury because he was not on the injury report leading up to the game.
Mosley had previously suffered a toe injury but played in the previous two games against the Bills and Steelers.
The Jets will have another stretch of three games in 11 days. On Halloween, Gang Green will host Houston on Thursday Night Football. New England will play at Tennessee.
