The Patriots scraped by the Jets with a 26-19 win on Sunday, extending their winning streak to three games, but honestly, it felt way too close for comfort after they’d built up a solid lead. What looked like it might be a runaway performance turned into a nail-biter, and they had to fight tooth and nail just to hold on.
Too Close For Comfort: How The Lead Evaporated
This game was a tale of two halves, or maybe two and a half quarters. The Patriots had a commanding 17-3 lead at halftime, feeling good, right? Nope. That comfortable cushion got whittled all the way down to a mere four points late in the third quarter. It was a massive swing, and you could feel the momentum shift. Thankfully, Drake Maye found tight end Hunter Henry for his third touchdown pass of the game early in the fourth quarter to give them some breathing room. Then, a field goal with 1:12 left finally pushed them to a 26-16 lead. The Jets managed a field goal with only 32 seconds left, setting up a heart-stopping onside kick attempt. For a split second, it looked like the Jets might just recover it when the ball bounced off wide receiver A.J. Brown’s hands. But Pop Douglas, who had a solid day, bailed out his teammate by falling on the ball to seal the 26-19 victory. Talk about a close call!
Maye’s Mixed Bag and Brown’s Costly Hands
Maye’s stat line for the day was 18-of-32 for 235 yards, and he tossed three touchdowns. Solid numbers, no doubt. But you gotta wonder how much better they could’ve been. Wide receiver A.J. Brown, returning from an ankle injury, had a rough outing. He dropped a couple of passes, and a few others that he probably should have caught went incomplete. It felt like the Patriots were almost forcing the ball his way at times, and honestly, things seemed to work out better when they looked elsewhere. Henry really stepped up on some key third downs, and Douglas was a bright spot with seven catches. Running back Corey Kiner also chipped in to help the offense. They got the win, but this offense definitely needs to fine-tune its execution, especially with those costly drops.
This win extends the streak to three, which is huge, but the way they nearly let a dominant lead slip away against the Jets should be a wake-up call. They need to clean up those late-game collapses and improve their receiving consistency if they want to keep this momentum going.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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