Game takeaways as the New England Patriots snap a six-game losing streak by beating the New York Jets.
The New England Patriots finally got back in the win column on Sunday, coming back from trailing in the fourth quarter to beat the New York Jets 25-22 at Gillette Stadium – their first win at home in over a calendar year (their last was the Oct. 22, Week 7 upset over the Buffalo Bills last year). With the win the Patriots snapped a six-game losing streak, their longest since the early 90s. They also avoided their first 0-4 October since 1992.
This game – really this week -started with a challenge after head coach Jerod Mayo called out the team as ‘soft’ after last week’s game. The challenges continued in-game, with starting quarterback Drake Maye leaving after one quarter with a concussion.
After Maye left the Patriots lost their early lead – the third time in four weeks they’ve had the lead after one quarter and been unable to hold it. Despite what was sloppy play at times though the team was able to make just enough plays to get by the Jets late.
What stood out in the win? Let’s get to it in this week’s takeaways…
The quarterbacks
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 27: Jacoby Brissett #7 high fives Kayshon Boutte #9 of the New England Patriots during the third quarter against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Before he left the game due to the concussion, Drake Maye put together a strong start to the game. He was moving around well and not only throwing accurately on the run but making plays as a runner himself. He ran the ball three times for 46 yards, and scored the team’s first touchdown of the game on a 17-yard scramble.
When Maye went out the Patriots turned to Jacoby Brissett, who hadn’t played since his last start in Week 5. While what he did was hardly flashy, he still looked ready, prepared, and in control. From a backup veteran quarterback who recently got benched and certainly had reasons to check out, he gave the team what they needed on Sunday and deserves credit for that.
On the game-winning drive, Brissett was 5-of-9 for 53 yards. That includes a throw through contact to Kayshon Boutte for 34 yards to put the Patriots in scoring range on 3rd & 10. He also had a 14-yard scramble against a blitz to extend the drive on 3rd & 9.
There were still the plays where Brissett held the ball too long, and the play calling looked more conservative with him in the game. That will likely continue as long as he’s in for Maye. On Sunday though, he gave them just enough to make it work.
Drops remain a problem
Oct 27, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (84) fails to catch a pass thrown by quarterback Jacoby Brissett (not seen) in front of New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Neither quarterback was helped by the fact that drops continue to be a problem for the Patriots. Collectively the unit dropped five passes on Sunday (on 29 total targets), all five of which would have gone for first downs.
Kayshon Boutte had two of those drops, before making the key catch late in the game. Kendrick Bourne had two others, after dropping a third-down pass in the red zone last week. Tyquan Thornton had a ball hit him in the hands after a great running throw by Drake Maye earlier in the game, but couldn’t maintain it through minimal contact from Jalen Mills in coverage.
In total, the Patriots’ receivers caught seven passes on 16 targets on Sunday, for 78 yards. Had they made the plays that were there those numbers would look much more impressive, but the drops severely limited the offense – and will continue to do so as long as they remain an issue.
Meanwhile, one pass catcher certainly came to play. Hunter Henry showed up big on National Tight End Day, catching five of his six targets for 45 yards with three of the catches going for first downs. That included multiple catches through contact. Henry is playing great football as of late, and the team will need him to continue to do so as the wide receiver position remains uncertain.
Checking in on the line of scrimmage
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 27: Rhamondre Stevenson #38 of the New England Patriots runs with the ball during the second half against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)
When Jerod Mayo called the team “soft” last week, he referred to an old Bill Belichick definition of the term. “You talk about what makes a tough football team – being able to run the ball, being able to stop the run, and being able to cover kicks. We did none of those,” Mayo said after the loss to the Jaguars.
We’ll get to the covering kicks part in a bit, but let’s start with the run game. Did the Patriots answer the call and improve up front?
Offensively, the rushing issues are still there. Taking out quarterback scrambles, the Patriots fan for just 2.16 yards per carry. That’s better than last week, but marginally.
The big difference was they were able to get the tough yardage when it matters. Rhamondre Stevenson punched in two goal line touchdowns, as well as a two-point conversion. He looked better now another week removed from a foot injury that cost him a game earlier this year.
Defensively it was a similar story. The run defense was better than it’s been, but still not great allowing four yards per carry. But like on offense, they were able to pick up a few big stops late in the game when needed. They also limited the big plays, with the Jets’ longest run of the day going for 16 yards.
Helping the defense was better play on the edge. Anfernee Jennings, who has been battling through injuries and missed practice at the start of this week, had a strong game. It was also a better performance from Jahlani Tavai, who has struggled in recent weeks playing more off the ball.
Third quarter defensive stop
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 27: Deatrich Wise Jr. #91 of the New England Patriots reacts after a sack against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Along the lines of things improving from last week, there was one instance when the Patriots found themselves in a similar spot to the one they were in against the Jaguars and came away with a much better result.
After the Jets kicked a field goal to go up 16-14 in the third quarter, the Patriots punted the ball back to New York on the ensuing drive. That gave the Jets the ball with the lead and 3:40 to go in the game.
Last week the Patriots gave the ball back to the Jaguars in a similar spot. Jacksonville responded with a run-heavy drive that took a season-record 11:24 off the clock. That significantly shortened the game and limited the Patriots’ ability to come back. It was a drive that certainly game to mind when hearing Mayo’s “soft” comment after the game.
This week there was no such clock-killing drive. After allowing a 13-yard completion on first down the Patriots’ defense stopped a Jets run and forced two incompletes to get the ball back.
Christian Elliss’ big game
Oct 27, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss (53) breaks up a pass intended for New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
The Patriots didn’t score when they got the ball back late in the third, and when the Jets got their next chance they started moving into field goal range. That was before Christian Elliss got a third-down sack, which was followed by a missed 44-yard field goal.
“Me and Dell [Pettus] had a little miscommunication at first. We got it sorted out, so I ended up adding in late,” Elliss said after the game, describing the play. “I was able to chip Breece [Hall] on the way in, and then my mind kind of just went blank, and it’s see ball, get ball.”
That was one of a handful of big plays Elliss made in this game. He blew up a couple of screens in the first half as well, and led the team overall with nine tackles.
As the Patriots scramble to fill out their defensive depth chart among injuries and players not playing up to expectations, Elliss is one player who has stepped up on a unit begging for contributors.
Elliss’ usage has continued to increase game-by-game since Week 4, and he played a season-high 83.8 percent of the team’s defensive snaps on Sunday. With the Patriots’ other options at linebacker struggling earlier this season, Elliss should continue to get chances as long as he keeps playing like this.
Marcus Jones punt return provides a spark
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 27: Marcus Jones #25 of the New England Patriots reacts after a punt return during the third quarter against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
While Marcus Jones struggled in coverage, he did leave his impact on the game on special teams. Jones had a 62-yard return to set the Patriots’ first drive of the second half up at the Jets 26-yard line. Five plays later the Patriots found the end zone with the first of Rhamondre Stevenson’s two touchdowns on the day.
Capitalizing on that return was a big difference in the game. The Jets had their own 40 yard return, which came off of a punt following the Patriots opening the game with a 3-and-out. On that one though the Patriots’ defense responded, and the Jets ended up punting back to the Patriots.
Another end of the half situation
Oct 27, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo calls a play against the New York Jets during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Each coaching staff faced a key sequence in this game that will be a talking point this week. We’ll start with the Patriots.
Once again, the Patriots got the ball back just inside of the two-minute warning of the first half. That’s a situation that has been an issue for the Patriots this year. They’ve been in a similar spot four times, and three times ended up punting the ball back to the opponent, and giving the other team to add points before halftime.
Part of the issue seemed to be a lack of conviction from the Patriots in those spots. They’d come out and run the ball, run clock, but then throw on second and third downs, still leaving enough time without actually moving the ball.
This time, the Patriots executed a plan. They ran the ball three times, running out the clock in the process.
“At the end of the half, you lose your starting quarterback, you just want to get the clock running so we can reset at halftime,” Jerod Mayo explained after the game. “That was really the mentality there. I know the fans and stuff, they don’t like it. They always want to try to go out there. I would say it was just a chance for us to get in the locker room, hit the reset button.”
At some point the Patriots will need to get more aggressive in those situations. If they’d ended up losing this game, that would have proved to be a major inflection point where they left potential points on the table. However, they did execute a plan in a first-half two-minute drill, which hasn’t been the case the majority of the times they’ve been in that situation this year.
Major Jets miscue
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 27: Aaron Rodgers #8 of the New York Jets looks on against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
In the end, sitting on the ball at the end of the first half did not end up costing the Patriots this game. Instead, it will be the Jets coaching staff that will come under fire this week for its decision-making.
The most glaring example of this came at the end of the game. After scoring with 3:00 to go to go up 22-17, the Jets set up for a two-point conversion to make it a full touchdown and extra point scoring margin.
However, they couldn’t get the snap off before the play clock ran down. Rather than calling one of their two timeouts, the Jets took the delay of game and instead had to attempt the two-point play from the seven yard line. They ended up well short, on a quick screen to Mike Williams that was stood up by Marcus Jones.
“We’ve got to be better from an operations standpoint, just overall, and that’s every single player, every single coach,” Jets head coach Jeff Ulbrich said after the game. That’s Aaron [Rodgers]. That’s all of us.”
Whether the Jets converted the two-point play or not they would have had the league and likely not have missed that extra timeout. It was a bad mistake from a team that can’t stop getting in its own way.
