FOXBOROUGH, MA — Just days after grinding out a victory in Tampa, the Patriots stretched their winning streak to eight games, outlasting the Jets on Thursday night, 27–14.
New England looked every bit like a team playing its second game in less than a week. Fatigue showed on both sides of the ball, but Mike Vrabel’s group still had enough gas in the tank to finish the job and stay in control of the AFC race.
Patriots push through a short week
Oddsmakers expected New England to roll past a rebuilding 2–7 Jets squad. Reality proved more complicated. The Patriots, already banged up and still several weeks away from their bye, struggled to fully impose their will.
Extended Jets drives taxed the defense, and the offense repeatedly missed chances to turn the night into a runaway. Still, given the packed schedule and mounting injuries, New England gladly accepted a primetime win that required grit instead of glamour.
Cleaning up mistakes remains on the to-do list — but rest, more than anything, is what this roster needs.
Drake Maye strengthens MVP résumé
With the national spotlight on him again, Drake Maye delivered yet another performance worthy of MVP chatter. Facing a Jets defense allowing fewer than 200 passing yards per game, the second-year quarterback sliced them up with calm efficiency.
Maye finished 25-of-34 for 281 yards and a touchdown, avoided turnovers, and once again looked like a veteran field general rather than a sophomore. At this point, excellence from Maye has become the expectation.
Another sluggish defensive opening
Even with New York missing top receiver Garrett Wilson and Justin Fields entering the night in a slump, the Jets set the tone early. They marched 72 yards across 14 plays to score on their opening possession, with Fields punching it in on the ground.
New England — typically strong against the run — couldn’t get off the field, giving up all four third-down attempts and 56 rushing yards on the drive. It marked the eighth time in 11 games the Patriots have surrendered points on the opponent’s first series.
TreVeyon Henderson’s rise continues
With Rhamondre Stevenson out again due to a toe injury, rookie TreVeyon Henderson continued to handle starting duties — and continued to shine.
After exploding for 147 yards and two touchdowns in Tampa, Henderson followed it up with his most complete outing yet: two rushing scores and his first career receiving touchdown.
He powered the Patriots early, scoring twice from seven yards out — the second coming on a determined run where teammates helped push the rookie across the goal line. His streak of production put him in rare company:
He’s the first Patriots rookie since Curtis Martin (1995) with back-to-back games of two or more rushing touchdowns.
He’s the first Patriot of any kind to do so since Damien Harris in 2021.
He becomes just the fourth player in team history with two rushing TDs and one receiving TD in a single game.
With Rob Gronkowski in attendance, Henderson also joined the franchise icon as the only Patriots rookies ever to record a three-touchdown game.
Patriots miss a double-score opportunity
The Jets took the ball to start the night, giving New England a chance at the coveted double-score — points before halftime and again after the break.
But with 1:48 left in the second quarter and all three timeouts, Vrabel chose not to push the pace. The Patriots settled for a 45-yard attempt from Andy Borregales, who missed for the first time since Week 1.
New England then went three-and-out to open the third quarter, ending any momentum the strategy could have produced.
Maye’s highlight-reel drive shifts momentum
After that sluggish start to the half, Maye reignited the stadium with a dazzling third-quarter march. His improvisation — rolling out, extending plays, and firing darts on the move — drew immediate comparisons to Patrick Mahomes.
He hit Stefon Diggs for 18 yards to set up Henderson’s receiving touchdown, lofting a perfect pass to his running back for the rookie’s third score of the night. Gillette Stadium erupted.
But once again, the defense faltered at a key moment. New York answered with a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive capped by John Metchie III’s 22-yard grab, trimming the lead to 21–14 entering the fourth.
Patriots close it out
New England didn’t blow the game open, but they were steady when they needed to be. Borregales made up for his earlier miss with two fourth-quarter field goals, and Anfernee Jennings recovered a Fields fumble deep in Jets territory to set up another scoring chance.
Though the Patriots settled for three instead of seven, the defense held firm late. Christian Barmore and Elijah Ponder each sacked Fields, and safety Dell Pettus sealed the win by shutting down Jeremy Ruckert on fourth down at the New England 15.
The Jets ran the ball well and extended drives with Fields’ mobility, but the Patriots lived by their season-long formula: bend, don’t break.
Gronk’s homecoming
One day after signing a ceremonial contract to retire a Patriot, Rob Gronkowski returned to Gillette Stadium as the team’s “Keeper of the Light,” rallying the crowd before kickoff. In classic Gronk fashion, he delivered a thunderous spike and later smashed a Jets-branded guitar during a halftime performance.
