FOXBOROUGH — The win streak is over for the Jets.
Drake Maye continued his MVP campaign for the Patriots after throwing for 281 yards and one touchdown as the Patriots (9-2) defeated the Jets (2-8) 27-14 on Thursday Night Football at Gillette Stadium.
Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson finished with 93 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns for New England.
Justin Fields ended the night completing 15-of-26 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 67 yards on 11 attempts.
Breece Hall, who was terrific against Cleveland in Week 9, registered 58 rushing yards and was held without a touchdown in another poor offensive night for the Jets.
After some speculation about whether he could get benched, Justin Fields once again started at quarterback for the Jets. He completed just 6-of-11 passes for 54 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the victory against the Browns last week.
Fields and the Jets had a flawless first drive to begin the night. They converted all of their fourth downs, and Fields scored on a five-yard touchdown run, which gave the Jets an early 7-0 lead. Out of the 72 yards they gained on that drive, 56 of them were achieved on the ground.
It was the first time the Jets scored on their opening drive since Week 16 last season against the Rams. However, their offense was stagnant, as it had been for much of the season.
Gang Green went three and out on its following three drives and gained a total of 21 yards combined for the rest of the first half. Fields completed just 4-of-7 passes for 23 yards with a touchdown run at the halftime break. The Jets also had 93 net yards of offense during the first 30 minutes.
This was the sixth time this season the Jets recorded less than 100 yards at halftime, according to the Amazon broadcast. That is the most in the NFL this season. But unlike the Week 7 game against the Panthers in which Tyrod Taylor came in at quarterback after halftime, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn stuck with Fields.
The Jets were without star wide receiver Garrett Wilson for the third time this season. He injured his knee against the Browns and landed on injured reserve hours before kickoff. That means Wilson will be out for at least four games.
Adonai Mitchell, who was acquired in the trade for Sauce Gardner over a week ago, played in his first game with Gang Green. He had one completion, but had a few opportunities for possible explosive plays.
In the second quarter, Fields threw a perfect pass to Mitchell down near the red zone, but the ball slipped through the receiver’s hands. Later in Jets territory, Mitchell was wide open, but Fields overthrew him near the sideline and the pass went incomplete.
But following a Patriots third-quarter touchdown, Fields and the Jets had their best drive since the first quarter. Fields was decisive and completed five of his six passes on the drive, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to John Metchie III, which was the second score of his NFL career. That trimmed the Patriots’ lead to 21-14.
But down 24-14 with 7:34 remaining, center Josh Myers had a low snap of the ball, and instead of just falling on it, Fields tried to pick it up. However, the Patriots’ linebacker, Anfernee Jennings, recovered the ball on the Jets’ 11-yard line. However, the Patriots only managed a field goal out of it, which increased their lead to 27-14.
But as inept as their offense was against the Patriots, the Jets defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed. Maye carved up the Jets secondary all night, which was shorthanded after cornerback Azareye’h Thomas was ruled out due to being in concussion protocol.
Additionally, the Jets’ defense struggled to slow down Henderson. He scored two first-half touchdowns on the ground and added a receiving touchdown in the third quarter.
New England’s offense finished with 346 yards, with 281 coming through the air. The Jets defense, which was a top-five unit the previous three seasons, has struggled under Glenn and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Coming into Thursday night, the Jets were 19th in yards and 26th in points allowed.
The Jets will have 10 days between their next game, which will be at Baltimore on Nov. 23.
