3 takeaways from Patriots’ upset win over the Jets
Rhamondre Stevenson converted on a 4th-and-1 rush from 1 yard out to give New England a lead with 22 seconds left.
Things initially went from bad to worse for the Patriots on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough.
One of the few remaining bright spots on New England’s roster in rookie QB Drake Maye exited the team’s game against the Jets due to a head injury — casting a shadow over a majority of Sunday’s matchup with New York.
But New England responded in empathic fashion in the fourth quarter, with backup QB Jacoby Brissett orchestrating a 12-play, 70-yard TD drive in crunch time to give New England a dramatic 25-22 win at Gillette Stadium.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s win over New York.
Drake Maye suffers a concussion…
Any optimism drawn from a difficult 2024 season in New England revolves around the positive early returns submitted by Drake Maye.
But New England was dealt yet another brutal blow on Sunday when its most dynamic player left the game in the second quarter with a concussion.
With 1:09 left in the first quarter, Maye scrambled for an 18-yard pickup — but was hit in the head by Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood while sliding down. No flag was assessed on the play, despite clear protests from Hunter Henry and other Patriots players.
Maye was clearly dazed as he got back on his feet, but did remain in the game for the rest of that drive (four snaps). He was sacked by Jets DL Quinnen Williams after picking up that first down, with his final throw of the afternoon dropped by Kayshon Boutte.
After that drive wrapped up, Maye made his way to the blue medical tent before eventually exiting down the stairs and toward New England’s locker room. Just after the first half ended, Jerod Mayo confirmed that the team’s rookie QB was done for the day — with Brissett taking over for the rest of the afternoon.
It was an abrupt ending to what was looking like another dynamic performance from the third-overall pick. While Maye completed just 3-of-6 passes for 23 yards (some of that a byproduct of drops), he was shredding New York on the ground — picking up 46 rushing yards off three carries, including a 17-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
… But New England responds with dramatic win
Even at 1-6, there were plenty of eyes on New England entering Sunday’s game — due in large part to Jerod Mayo’s comments after last week’s loss to the Jaguars in London.
Mayo’s decision to label his team as “soft” after that Week 7 loss led to backtracking, player retorts, and plenty of additional distractions.
So how did New England’s roster respond after their head coach’s call-out?
It wasn’t pretty at times, with New England’s defense relinquishing a 70-yard scoring drive to New York in the fourth quarter — and the Jets finishing with 112 rushing yards. New England’s pass-catchers also had five drops after a week with plenty of off-the-field chatter and demands for the ball.
But in crunch time, an undermanned New England roster stepped up and delivered a win.
Trailing 22-17 with just three minutes left on the clock, Jacoby Brissett led New England 70 plays down the field – extending plays both with his feet (14 yard scramble on 3rd and 9) and through the air (34-yard catch from Kayshon Boutte) before Rhamondre Stevenson ran into the end zone on a 4th and 1 to secure New England’s second win of the year.
New England might still have a steep uphill climb this season when it comes to its personnel and Maye’s injury. But Sunday was the exact response that Mayo and his staff needed amid all of the drama of last week.
Brissett steps up
With Maye ruled out, the Patriots had to move ahead with Brissett under center for the rest of Sunday’s game.
While the veteran QB’s struggles at the start of the 2024 season were primarily a byproduct of a porous offensive line around him — his lack of playmaking and scrambling ability also limited just how explosive the team could be in the early going.
It was a rough indictment on the state of New England’s offense that after going 3-and-out, Brissett’s final drive of the first half ended by simply running out the clock — even with the team in possession of three timeouts.
But New England did show some signs of life as the game went on, culminating in Brissett’s role in the team’s fourth-quarter comeback.
New England found the end zone for a second time in the third quarter off of a three-yard touchdown from Stevenson — with a five-play scoring drive that was also a direct result of a 62-yard punt return from Marcus Jones to put the team in fantastic field position.
The Patriots did put themselves in a position to come away with a win in the fourth quarter, with Brissett and New England reeling off a 14-play, 46-yard drive that ended with a Joey Slye field goal and a 17-16 lead.
But New England’s inability to cash in on red-zone opportunities or gain chunk yardage looked like it was going to doom the team once again — especially after the Jets responded with a fourth-quarter drive of their own that ended when Braelon Allen tumbled into the end zone to make it a 22-17 Jets lead.
But Brissett stepped up when his team needed him to. Along with his 14-yard scramble for a first down (New England’s third-longest run of the day after two rushes from Maye), Brissett put New England in the red zone off of a clutch 34-yard catch from Boutte — while facing plenty of pressure on the throw.
Stevenson might have been the one to cash in with the game-winning score, but it was another so-so performance on the ground from New England (2.4 yards per carry for Stevenson).
Without Brissett’s clutch play, the Patriots would have been staring at a 1-7 record.
LIVE UPDATES
4:09: Patriots beat the Jets, 25-22. A gutsy win for New England, and an embarrassing loss for New York.
4:01: Patriots respond. Stevenson runs it in. 25-22 Patriots with 22 seconds left.
What a response.
4:00: Boutte with the catch. 4th and 1 for New England.
3:57: Wow. 34-yard completion from Boutte. New England on the Jets’ 9-yard line with 1:10 to go.
3:54: 13-yard scramble from Brissett. 1:41 to go and New York on the Jets’ 43.
New England needs a TD to win.
3:44: Brutal. New England’s defense once again can’t keep New York off the field and seal a win — as Braelon Allen runs in for a touchdown.
10-play, 70-yard drive for New York that ends with a 22-17 Jets lead.
3:33: New England has the lead, with a 14-play, 61-yard drive ending with a 23-yard field goal from Joey Slye.
17-16 Patriots lead with 7:34 to go.
3:21: Eliss gets the sack on Rodgers. Jets miss the field goal.
New England still only trailing by two.
3:15: End Third: Patriots trail, 16-14.
3:14: Yet another drop by a Patriots wideout — this one by Kendrick Bourne. Good throw from Brissett.
Patriots punting once again.
3:09: The Patriots are a bad team, yes. But man — Aaron Rodgers and the Jets are straight-up dreadful as well. What a disappointing roster — with much higher expectations. Rodgers threw a ball right to Hawkins, who drops it.
3:01: That hold against Michael Jordan proves costly, as New England has to punt.
Aaron Rodgers threw one right to Jaylinn Hawkins on 3rd down, but Hawkins couldn’t hang on.
2:58: Patriots get a huge gain off a catch from Hunter Henry (39 yards), but it’s wiped out because of a hold against Michael Jordan.
2:54: Jets respond with a scoring drive of their own — with Greg Zuerlein converting on a field goal to take a 16-14 lead.
2:42: Patriots capitalize on Jones’ great punt return — with Stevenson running things in on a 3-yard rush.
14-13 Patriots lead with 10:55 left in the third.
2:39: Jets go 3-and-out to open the third — and Marcus Jones reels off a 62-yard punt return.
1st and 10 at New York’s 26.
2:36: Third quarter is underway and the Patriots make it official: Drake Maye is out with a concussion.
2:25: Speaking to CBS at the half, Jerod Mayo confirms that Drake Maye is done for the rest of the afternoon. Brutal news for New England.
2:22: HALFTIME: Patriots trail the Jets, 13-7. New York will have the ball after the half. Now all eyes turn to Drake Maye.
2:21: Patriots are just running out the clock here in the first half. Offense just completely flatlining with Maye out of the equation.
2:09: Here’s yet another look at the hit on Maye from Jamien Sherwood. No sign of Maye after 10 minutes away from the sideline.
Officials didn’t throw a flag on the play following the hit on Maye, with Hunter Henry immediately asking for a flag.
Looking like Brissett is returning for his second straight drive to close out the first half. Might not get clarity on Maye’s availability until after the half.
2:06: New England goes 3-and-out on Brissett’s drive. Nothing doing on offense for the Patriots as Maye remains in the locker room.
2:04: Here comes Jacoby Brissett.
1:59: Maye questionable to return with a head injury. Not great.
1:58: To make matters worse, Rodgers hits Gipson for a 1-yard touchdown.
Jets take a 13-7 lead.
1:57: Maye is heading to the locker room. Brissett is warming up.
1:54: Drake Maye is now in the blue medical tent.
1:52: Another drop – this one from Boutte. Not great.
1:52: Drake Maye shaken up on this play.
1:47: END FIRST: Patriots hold a 7-6 lead after 15 minutes.
1:45: Thornton has to come down with that catch.
1:39: Christian Elliss gets called for pass interference in the end zone — and the Jets score on a 1-yard TD pass from Rodgers on the next play.
But Zuerlein’s kick is no good.
7-6 game with 1:23 left in the first.
1:34: Ooof, that’s a pretty weak call on Gonzalez there for DPI. Jets now on New England’s 15-yard line.
1:30: Patriots have to burn a timeout because they only have 10 players on the field. Not great!
1:22: Dual-threat QB Drake Maye. 17-yard TD run gives New England a first-quarter lead.
7-0 Patriots with 5:18 left in the first.
1:19: Drake Maye is marching New England down the field. A few first-down pickups by Henry and Hooper — and then Maye reels off an 11-yard run.
1:16: Jets C.J. Mosley is questionable to return with a neck injury. Would be a huge loss for New York’s defense.
1:10: A rather uninspiring start for both offenses, with the Jets ultimately punting despite that great starting field position.
1:06: Not a good start for New England’s special teams. 40-yard punt return by the Jets’ Xavier Gipson has the Jets already in New England territory.
1:05: Patriots go 3-and-out to open the game. Jets’ offense coming up next.
1:00: Jets win the coin toss, they defer. Maye and the Patriots are up first.
12:55: An Adam Vinatieri sighting at Gillette Stadium.
12:38: Something worth monitoring with Javon Baker today.
12:29: For the first time this season, the Patriots are rolling out a starting group on the O-line that we’ve seen before. This starting line was used in Week 6 against the Texans.
12:17: Warmups are underway.
12:05: A David Andrews sideline sighting.
12:00: Inactives for New England. Dugger is a sizable loss, while Josh Uche’s absence might signal that he’s being dangled out in trade talks.
11:45: Greetings from Gillette!
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