A total of 45 points separated Mike Vrabel’s sideline from Aaron Glenn’s during the 2025 AFC East sweep.
Enough of a gap remained Sunday at Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots held on to defeat the New York Jets by a score of 26-19.
Here’s a glance back on the 1 p.m. ET kickoff as the head coaches move forward with 4-2 and 2-4 teams.
Maye’s October rolls on
After accounting for one touchdown and seven turnovers in September, the calendar has done more than flip.
Drake Maye completed 18-of-32 passes for 235 yards
on Sunday. The Patriots quarterback found three touchdowns and no interceptions against a much-improved Jets defense that had finished 2025 without a pick. He added 24 rushing yards over the course of the afternoon, led by a sprint of 21.
Taking the field in “13” personnel, the opening drive brought a batted pass at the line of scrimmage and a three-and-out. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ group needed two plays to find paydirt on the second series thanks to a clean pocket and a diving 42-yard touchdown to wide receiver Romeo Doubs. In only 12 seconds of game clock.
And while Maye did not complete his second pass of the outing until the 6:57 mark in the second quarter, he went 5-of-7 through the air and endured roughing the passer on the final drive going into halftime. And with a trio of timeouts on hand as well as slot receiver DeMario Douglas, a 17-3 game it became. The recent AFC Offensive Player of the Week had gone 9-of-17 for 130 yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating of 117.3 at the break.
Things got out of intermission with a turnover on downs and a pair of turnovers by ground for the Patriots. But a 12-play, 63-yard surge ended in the end zone with tenured tight end Hunter Henry’s second touchdown in as many weeks.
New England finished 8-of-15 on third down, 1-of-2 on fourth down and 2-of-4 in the red zone. Maye’s October now spans 10 touchdowns.
Brown battles drops as wideout room brings in two touchdowns
A.J. Brown had been a limited participant for three consecutive practices after having his 21-day window open. And while No. 1 was questionable to return to face the Jets, the light was left on. His official activation to the 53-man roster followed on the eve of the 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
The June arrival in Foxborough was the lone wide receiver in the starting lineup on Sunday. After Brown’s first catch was overturned via challenge, it took until his fourth target to get on the board. He finished with 27 receiving yards on a team-high 10 looks in his return from the high ankle sprain that sent him to injured reserve following the season opener. Three drops, including a fourth-and-5 incompletion, were in the cards along with a bobbled onside kick on the hands team.
A New England wideout depth chart of four had amassed three touchdowns in the final game without its Pro Bowler. A week later, a depth chart of five brought in two scores.
The aforementioned Doubs was downgraded to out due to a shoulder injury after his latest visit to the end zone. The aforementioned Douglas tied him for the team lead with his third touchdown catch of the fall and finished Sunday with seven receptions for 86 yards. And also with a lost fumble on a 40-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
Kiner paces Patriots’ backfield committee
A high ankle sprain did not keep TreVeyon Henderson away from practice. The No. 38 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft entered the weekend as questionable. He proceeded to outlast the inactives list, one loud hit from linebacker DeMario Davis and one forced fumble courtesy of defensive end David Bailey to handle 40 scrimmage yards across eight touches.
Yet it was a backfield of three for the Patriots.
Starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 36 yards across 14 carries, including a not-down-yet long of 12. Meanwhile, Corey Kiner broke off a kickoff return of 38 yards and provided more than breather on offense with 11 handoffs for a Patriots-best 57 ground yards. The summer trade acquisition was leaned on late after losing a fumble a Sunday ago.
Left tackle returns as trio of starters depart from offensive line
The knee injury that took Will Campbell out in the midst of a 45-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders did not take him out one Sunday later. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft stayed in for every snap at left tackle despite being a questionable call.
Three others were unable to do the same for the Patriots’ starting five. Attrition reached a critical mass.
Left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker was ruled out due to a hamstring injury sustained in the second quarter. An ankle injury sustained by in right tackle Morgan Moses preceded it. The 35-year-old captain also did not return. And in the final quarter, right guard Ben Brown needed assistance getting off the field due to a knee injury after he had flipped to the other side of the line.
In turn, rookie first-rounder Caleb Lomu went from reporting as an eligible tight end to playing bookend while recent 53-man additions Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse stepped on at the guard spots abutting center Jared Wilson.
Extra time was fought for by a patchwork offensive line that conceded zero sacks and zero penalties.
Smith’s pick-less streak snaps against secondary welcoming back No. 0
A shoulder injury kept Christian Gonzalez sidelined for six practices and two games. But not Sunday. The All-Pro cornerback went without a game designation as part of the starting nickel secondary and helped limit former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson to 44 receiving yards.
Jets quarterback Geno Smith completed 20-of-30 passes for 252 yards during the return of No. 0. It marked the veteran’s seventh career start against the Patriots dating back to his rookie introduction in 2013. And it brought one touchdown as well as his initial interception of the campaign.
New York’s opening drive stalled on the doorstep of the red zone after 13 plays, 58 yards and a penalty for offensive pass interference that turned a touchdown into a field goal. The next four possessions resulted in a pair of punts and back-to-back turnovers on downs. And by the time halftime hit, the visiting offense had gone 1-of-6 on third down, 0-of-2 on fourth down and 0-of-1 in the red zone while hoarding 19:10 of game clock.
But a moon ball behind New England starting safeties Craig Woodson and Kevin Byard III found the hands of rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. for a 48-yard touchdown to make it a 17-10 game in the third quarter. It went from 17-13 game to a 23-13 game to a 23-16 game to a 26-19 game soon after.
Along the way, Charles Woods, who started for a corner depth chart still missing Carlton Davis III because of a neck injury, broke the seal with a pick along the sideline. It went in the books as the first career pick for the 2024 undrafted free agent and 2025 waiver claim. It snapped a streak of 165 passes without a pick by New York’s QB, too.
Ponder extends tally to 5.5 sacks in six games
Three sacks were in the cards for New England. Milton Williams got his first of the fall to set up a third-and-16 in the first quarter. Christian Barmore followed it up on the ensuing snap to put the uprights as New York’s back and the punt unit on.
The defensive tackles had company after halftime on Sunday. Elijah Ponder took down the Jets’ QB on third-and-5 to force a field goal and extend his Patriots high to 5.5 sacks on the year. He had four in all as a rookie. The 2025 UDFA out of Cal Poly started off the edge opposite Dre’Mont Jones and now has at least a half sack in five straight games.
The outside linebackers were joined in starting front by the the club’s leading tacklers off the ball. Christian Elliss and captain Robert Spillane, who stood up a fourth-and-1 carry from 6-foot-1, 235-pound running back Braelon Allen, combined for 11 more tackles on Sunday. And another fourth-and-1 halting.
The Jets’ running backs managed 94 rushing yards across 24 attempts in the absence of all-purpose threat Breece Hall.
Hunter a highlight in the kicking game
Patriots kicker Andy Borregales went 2-of-2 on field goals and 2-of-3 on extra points against the Jets, with one try heading wide left. The sophomore split the uprights from 32 yards away in the second quarter and 27 yards away in the fourth quarter.
His holder averaged 50 yards per with some help from a rookie linebacker, too.
Erick Hunter continued to show up downfield on Sunday. The undrafted linebacker out of Morgan State, who signed in September, downed a 54-yard punt from veteran specialist Mitch Wishnowsky at the opposing three-yard line. The last tackle made by New England’s special teams also went to No. 49, who entered the matchup with six stops in the kicking game.
