6 takeaways as the Patriots survive the short week against the Jets

Divisional games are never easy. Thursday night games are certainly never easy. Yet the New England Patriots worked through both on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, to come away with a 27-14 win over the New York Jets.

Again, these games present unique challenges - especially for a Patriots team coming off of a physical game on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just five days ago. Yet throughout the week, the Patriots embraced the challenge.

"Testament to our players, our staff. I thanked them so many times just being able to roll in there on Monday, have stuff prepared," head coach Mike Vrabel said after the game. "It's hard to go on the road to Tampa and get your mind ready for that, but also in the back of your mind you've got a whole other box about what are you going to do against the Jets and being able to get on a plane, come home, get in late, but have that ready to go and have energy and a game plan ready for the players on Monday at 1 o'clock. Thank the trainers, thank the staff, the strength staff, everybody involved for getting our players ready to go for the game here in a short week."

Linebacker Robert Spillane shared that the players began the process of getting ready for this one before they even left Tampa. Players got IVs following that game, and some players stayed by the facility for treatment after getting back from the airport from the flight back to New England, before even going home.

That work paid off, as the Patriots came out and won another physical game against the Jets. With the win the Patriots improved their record to 9-2, clinching their first winning season since 2021.

At 9-2, the Patriots are also the first team to nine wins in the NFL this year (the Denver Broncos can join them on Sunday if they beat the Kansas City Chiefs, while the 8-2 Indianapolis Colts are on a bye). Patriots fan attentions' now turn to Sunday as the Buffalo Bills, at 6-3, take on a tough Buccaneers team that the Patriots beat last week.

How did the Patriots get it done? Let's get to this week's takeaways...

Playing in his first primetime game at Gillette Stadium, Drake Maye didn't disappoint. With the run game struggling at times the Patriots put the game in Maye's hands more often than not and he got the team up and down the field. He finished 25-of-34 for 281 yards with a touchdown and - for the first time in four weeks - no turnovers.

Where Maye really shined in this game was his movement within the pocket. Over the past few games it felt like Maye was quicker to decide to tuck the ball and run, but multiple times in this game he reset himself behind the line of scrimmage and found receivers downfield.

On the short week, Maye turned to veteran receivers early and often in this game. Stefon Diggs led the room, with nine catches for 105 yards. Of Diggs nine catches, seven went for first downs including two third-down conversions. Another third down completion moved the Patriots into range to go for it on fourth down on the next play, which they did successfully.

Maye also regularly targeted Mack Hollins, who once again played more of a vertical role with Kayshon Boutte out. Hollins caught four passes for 64 yards, including multiple grabs on those plays Maye extended in the pocket.

Finally, Hunter Henry was a feature in a game where he was the only true tight end in uniform for the Patriots. He caught four passes for 45 yards. Henry played 90% of the Patriots' offensive snaps in this game, his highest usage rate since the opener. When he wasn't on the field the Patriots at times went with 10 personnel, with Hollins taking on some tight end-like responsibilities as a blocker.

Meanwhile, Maye still be working to get on the same page with rookie Kyle Williams. Williams did not have a catch on three targets, highlighted by an incompletion where Maye threw the ball deep but Williams came back on his route.

What helped Maye overall was a cleaner pocket. He didn't get knocked around as much as he has in previous games, with the Jets registering only four quarterback hits and one sack.

With that performance, the 'MVP' chants were out from his introduction to the final kneeldown of the game. Maye, who last week suggested the chants might be for Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, once again took the humble route postgame.

"May have been for TreVeyon [Henderson] tonight. He scored three touchdowns," Maye said. "No, I think our fans have been great with me since I got here, since I got drafted. I just appreciate them for embracing me, and trying to embrace this city and give these fans and this team and just myself just leave it all out there and give it everything I got."

This was the first real high-volume game in TreVeyon Henderson's NFL career. He set a career-high with 18 touches two weeks ago, then had 15 last week. In this game he got the ball 24 times - on a short week.

With Henderson leading the way, the run game was up and down throughout the night. Excluding the knees at the end of the game and Maye's scrambles the Patriots averaged just 2.4 yards per carry.

When they needed a jolt though, Henderson delivered. Twice he punched in physical runs near the goal line, getting help with a strong push from offensive linemen, Henry, and Hollins. After the Patriots struggled near the goal line last week, this was a notable improvement.

Then late in the game he was able to pick up a first down on the Patriots' final drive to ice it, and avoid having to give the ball back to the Jets. On the third down he was initially stopped short, but just like on the goal line he kept his legs churning and eventually broke through.

Henderson played a bigger role in the passing game too. He caught Maye's lone touchdown - completing his hat trick - with a toe-tap catch in the back of the end zone. In total Henderson ran the ball 19 times for 62 yards with two touchdowns, and caught five passes for 31 yards and another score.

Part of the reason the Patriots had to lean on Henderson was their lack of depth at running back. Rhamondre Stevenson was inactive, and although Terrell Jennings was active he didn't get any snaps. The only back who could spell Henderson was D'Ernest Johnson, who carried the ball three times for six yards.

If there was one spot where the Patriots' offense really left an opportunity on the table, it was at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second. Twice the Patriots had a chance to set up a double-score, and failed.

Their first shot saw them get the ball with 6:07 to go in the first half - more than a minute less on the clock than the drive they had in a similar spot last week. They only got one first down though, and punted after five plays.

They'd get the ball back with 1:48 on the clock, but a stuffed run and offensive holding on Will Campbell backed them up. A Jets penalty prevented an early punt, but the Patriots still seemed to be carefully managing the clock. After a couple of short passes they ended up in position for a 45-yard field goal, which Andy Borregales missed just right - his first miss of any kind since Week 2.

Getting the ball back at the start of the second half, the Patriots weren't able to capitalize on the back half of the double-score either. They went three-and-out, with Maye's game really starting to step up on their second drive of the third quarter.

Another game, another rough first drive for the Patriots' defense. The Jets chose to take the ball after winning the coin toss, and marched right down the field. They went 72 yards in 14 plays and took more than half of the quarter off the clock with a 8:04 time of possession.

Where the Jets really dominated was on the ground. 13 of those first 14 plays were runs, sprung by the Jets' offensive line winning at the point of attack and getting Patriots defensive linemen on the ground. Justin Fields scrambled in for the score.

From there though, once again, the Patriots' defense settled in. Of the Jets' eight remaining drives, six went for fewer than 10 yards including three consecutive three-and-outs in the second quarter. The Jets did have one other big touchdown drive in the third quarter, and then had a 50-yard drive late in the game down two scores, which the Patriots stopped on downs in the red zone.

The Patriots ultimately prevented Fields from ruining another primetime, notable uniform game at Gillette Stadium. A few years ago Fields came in with the Bears for a Monday Night Football game, and beat the Patriots in their first game wearing silver pants with their new uniforms.

Outside of the first drive and final drive, the Patriots' defense allowed just 3.4 yards per play. They also 'forced' their first turnover in four weeks, with Anfernee Jennings recovering a botched Jets snap in the fourth quarter.

One of the biggest stories to watch out of this game will be the status of defensive tackle Milton Williams. Williams suffered an ankle injury on the first drive of the game, and only briefly returned for one play in the second quarter - his eighth and final snap of the game. After the game head coach Mike Vrabel made it sound like a decision made out of caution, but it's a situation to keep an eye on.

With Williams out, the Patriots got contributions from some familiar and not-so familiar faces along the defensive line.

The familiar face? Christian Barmore. Barmore, who has dealt with plenty of double-teams this year, broke through for his fist sack of the season and had a handful of other pressures as well. His impact was felt, especially in the second half.

But who was running alongside Barmore with Williams out? Khyiris Tonga and Cory Durden both saw extended time, and Eric Gregory played 15 snaps in his NFL debut, exclusively in an early downs role. Gregory entered the NFL as a UDFA out of Arkansas with the Cincinnati Bengals this spring, then was claimed by the Patriots off waivers during final roster cuts.

Another rookie who made an impact late was edge rusher Elijah Ponder. Ponder picked up a third-down sack on the Jets' final drive, setting up the failed fourth down conversion that ended up being the Jets' final offensive snap. It was the second sack in as many weeks for the UDFA out of Cal Poly, after getting his first career NFL sack last week.

With the Patriots' running back depth tested, the team didn't put any players at the position back for the kick return. Wide receiver Efton Chism remained in the return role, with Brenden Schooler as the up-man. This also represented a different formation for the Patriots, who for most of the start of the season split the two returners evenly across the field.

On Chism's part, the Jets often kicked it short to him but he made the most of what was there. Two of his three returns got past the 30, with the other getting to the 28. There's still room to improve, but now with five kick return games under his belt he does look more decisive and isn't shying away from contact as much on the returns. With Henderson now in a bigger role on offense the jobs could be his moving forward.

That new role also was part of what was a busy day for Brenden Schooler. In addition to his new spot on kickoff return, he also played a third down snap on defense as a spy on fields.