New York Jets Blow Lead in Final Minutes, Fall to New England Patriots

The New York Jets had a host of issues but still had a lead with less than three minutes before New England rallied to win.

Oct 27, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss (53) tackles New York Jets running back Breece Hall (20) during the first half at Gillette Stadium. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The New York Jets squandered chance after chance on offense and failed defensively on the game’s last drive to fall to the New England Patriots, 25-22, on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

For New York (2-6), the loss extended their streak to five games and the win broke New England’s (2-6) losing streak at six games.

There were failures all around, but the last was on the Jets’ defense, which had a five-point lead with 2:53 left and had every chance to stop the Patriots, who started at their own 30-yard-line.

New York’s defense failed to stop the Patriots on two long third-down plays, one converted by Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett on a run and another on a 34-yard strike to Kayshon Boutee to set up first-and-goal.

New England needed all four plays to score, with Boutee landing just short of the game-winning touchdown on a slant route. On fourth-and-goal, Brissett handed to Rhamondre Stevenson for a 1-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left.

Before that, the Jets overcame penalties, flawed operations and missed kicks to put together what they thought was the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Down 17-16, quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the Jets 70 yards, which included back-to-back strikes to wide receiver Garrett Wilson and a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Davante Adams.

Two plays later Braelon Allen scored from two yards out to push the Jets to a 22-17 lead with 2:57 left. The Jets went for two but failed after a delay of game penalty. They needed the conversion, in part, because kicker Greg Zuerlein missed an extra point and a field goal.

Rodgers finshed with 217 yards passing and two touchdowns as the Jets tried to balance the run with the pass. New York did gain 112 yards on the ground. Wilson had a huge afternoon, catching five passes for 113 yards.

Throughout the game, the Jets were a mess. New York took timeouts to avoid delay of game penalties or to get on the same page offensively, including all three first-half timeouts in the first quarter. The defense didn’t provide a consistent pass rush, even with the appearance of edge rusher Haason Reddick in the rotation.

The Patriots had to change quarterbacks in the second quarter as first-round pick Drake Maye left the game with a concussion. He threw for 23 yards and rushed for another 46 and scored New England’s first touchdown. Brissett — who started the first meeting with the Jets — replaced him.

Brissett finished with 132 yards passing but was the victim of several drops by Patriots receivers. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown.

The Jets got off to a sloppy start after wide receiver Xavier Gipson set them up in Patriots territory with a 40-yard return after New England’s first drive ended with a punt. New York did nothing on that drive. The Jets used all three timeouts by the end of the first quarter to avoid delay of game penalties.

The Patriots took the early lead on Maye’s 17-yard touchdown run. At one point he accounted for more than two-thirds of the Patriots’ total offense.

But New York settled down after that. The Jets scored on the next drive, aided by a pair of Patriots pass interference calls. Rodgers fired a touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Conklin with 1:23 left in the first quarter as Conklin took a pair of hits while making the catch. Zuerlein missed the extra point.

The Jets took the lead on the next possession as Rodgers connected with Gipson for a 1-yard touchdown pass, the first receiving score of Gipson’s career. New York held that lead going into the half.