Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo created a stir when he called his team soft after last Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars, but he probably won’t come up with the same characterization this week.
Running back Rhamondre Stevenson scored a one-yard touchdown to cap a 12-play, 70-yard drive with 22 seconds left to play and the Patriots beat the Jets 25-22 at Gillette Stadium. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who was in because Drake Maye suffered a head injury, completed passes to convert on a pair of long third downs, including a 34-yard strike to Kayshon Boutte that made up for earlier drops by the wideout.
The Jets got the ball back and Aaron Rodgers appeared to complete a 21-yard pass to Garrett Wilson on first down, but officials ruled it incomplete and did not review the play. They completed a pass to Davante Adams on the next snap, but the clock ran out before they could try another play.
The Jets had pulled ahead 22-17 on a Braelon Allen touchdown run before the two-minute warning, but their defense was not up to the task of stopping a Patriots offense that has struggled all season.
Their attempt to win for the first time since Week Three was also hampered by two missed kicks by Greg Zuerlein, who has now missed seven kicks on the season. That meant any glimmers of production from Wilson, running back Breece Hall and tight end Tyler Conklin went for naught.
It’s now five straight losses for a 2-6 Jets team that seems likelier to be eliminated from the playoff picture in December than it does to mount the kind of run of consistent play that would put them in the playoffs. They’ll host the Texans on Halloween and it will be a scary crowd waiting for them after Sunday’s collapse.
The Patriots will be in Tennessee and that’s another winnable game for them whether Maye is cleared to return to action or not.
