Patriots hold off Jets 26-19 as Drake Maye throws three touchdown passes

Patriots hold off Jets for 26-19 win at Gillette Stadium

The New England Patriots beat the New York Jets 26-19 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, improving to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the AFC East. The Jets fell to 2-4 and 1-3 in the division. Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes and New England's defense turned two Jets turnovers into points as the Patriots held off a late push.

New England led 7-3 after the first quarter on Jason Sanders' 42 yard field goal for the Jets and a 42 yard touchdown pass from Maye to Romeo Doubs. The Patriots pushed the lead to 17-3 at halftime on an Andy Borregales field goal and a 9 yard touchdown pass from Maye to DeMario Douglas. The Jets answered in the third quarter on a 48 yard touchdown catch by Omar Cooper Jr. and a Sanders field goal to cut it to 17-13. New England answered with a touchdown catch by Hunter Henry, though the extra point failed, and the two teams traded field goals before Sanders' fourth field goal of the day made it 19-26 with 32 seconds left.

Maye and the Patriots passing game did the damage

Maye finished 18 of 32 for 235 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball to three different receivers. Douglas led the Patriots with seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, Doubs added the 42 yard score and Henry caught the third touchdown pass. Corey Kiner carried 11 times for 57 yards to lead New England's rushing attack, which finished with 148 yards on the ground as a team.

A.J. Brown played in his return from injured reserve and caught three passes for 27 yards. New England lost right tackle Morgan Moses, left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and right guard Ben Brown to injuries during the game, forcing the offensive line to shuffle for most of the second half.

Geno Smith and the Jets could not finish the comeback

Smith threw for 252 yards and a touchdown on 20 of 30 passing, but he was intercepted once, by Charles Woods in the fourth quarter, on a drive that could have cut the deficit to one score. Omar Cooper Jr., back from injured reserve, caught six passes for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Braelon Allen ran 17 times for 78 yards. Jamien Sherwood led the Jets with 11 tackles.

New York was missing Adonai Mitchell, Joseph Ossai, Dylan Parham and Breece Hall, who did not play because of a finger surgery, an ankle injury, a knee injury and a right quadriceps injury. The Jets finished with 324 total yards and lost the turnover battle, one giveaway to New England's two, and were flagged five times for 35 yards to the Patriots' five for 57.

What it means

The win is New England's third straight and keeps the Patriots alone atop the AFC East at 3-0 in the division. The Jets have lost three of their last four and sit at 1-3 in the division. New England's defense got through the game despite the Patriots committing two turnovers of their own, with Marcus Jones leading the team with eight tackles and Milton Williams recording a sack.

Both teams carry injury concerns into next week. Doubs, who caught a touchdown pass in this game, is now on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. New England is also down Karon Prunty, Channing Canada and Carlton Davis III, all out with injuries of their own. The Jets will try to get healthier as they look to stop a three-game skid.

Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.