The Jets took their first 7-0 lead at Gillette Stadium since 2012 on the opening drive of Thursday night’s game, but all of the other points in the first half were scored by the Patriots.
Most of them were scored by running back TreVeyon Henderson. The second-round pick scored on a pair of seven-yard runs, but the Patriots missed a chance to tack on more points when Andy Borregales missed a 45-yard field goal to close the half.
The miss sent the teams into the locker room with the Patriots up 14-7.
Henderson has 13 carries for 41 yards and quarterback Drake Maye is 14-of-16 for 140 yards through the air. Henderson has accounted for 23 of them on three carries and Maye has also connected with Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry, and Mack Hollins multiple times.
The Jets picked up five first downs on an impressive opening drive, but didn’t get another one for the rest of the half. They missed a chance for a big play when a well-thrown deep pass went through wide receiver Adonai Mitchell’s hands and they can’t afford too many misses like that if they’re going to pull off an upset in New England.
Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson ran for two touchdowns in last Sunday’s win over the Buccaneers and he’s matched that total before halftime on Thursday night.
Henderson ran for a seven-yard touchdown on the Patriots’ first possession of the game and then did it again to cap their second drive. The touchdowns have the Patriots up 14-7 on the Jets with 7:54 to play in the first half.
The Patriots ground their way to their first score, but they used big plays to get down the field the second time. Drake Maye completed all four passes he tried and connected with wide receiver Mack Hollins for a pair of 19-yard gains. He also had two completions to tight end Hunter Henry for 35 yards.
Maye is 9-of-9 through the first two possessions and Henderson has nine carries for 36 yards.
The Jets opened Thursday night’s game with a long touchdown drive and the Patriots answered with one of their own.
After the Jets held the ball for more than eight minutes on their way to a Justin Fields touchdown run, the Patriots took up 7:40 of clock while covering 69 yards. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson scored on a seven-yard run to tie the score 7-7 with 14:16 to play in the first half.
Henderson had seven carries for 27 yards and quarterback Drake Maye was 5-of-5 for 23 yards. The Patriots also benefitted from an unnecessary roughness penalty on cornerback Jarvis Brownlee to pick up 15 of the yards they needed to hit the end zone.
The Jets will try to answer and another long drive would push the game close to halftime without many changes of possession.
The Jets won the toss in New England on Thursday night and opted to receive the opening kickoff.
It turned out to be the right call. The Jets ate up more than eight minutes while driving 74 yards for a game-opening touchdown. The extra point gave the road team a 7-0 lead.
Quarterback Justin Fields did a lot of the work and fittingly finished things off with a five-yard touchdown run. He had five carries for 28 yards overall and also completed both passes he tried, including a 10-yard strike to wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for a first down. It was Mitchell’s first catch for the Jets.
Fields had a chance for a catch of his own when wide receiver Isaiah Williams took a toss from the quarterback and then threw back in Fields’ direction. Edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson read the play, however, and was able to get to Fields in time to break up the pass.
The Patriots defense may not have defensive tackle Milton Williams available when they return to the field. Williams is listed as questionable to return from an ankle injury that sent him to the locker room.
UPDATE 8:51 p.m. ET: Williams returned to the game in the second quarter.
The Jets will have edge rusher Will McDonald IV and defensive lineman Harrison Phillips for Thursday Night Football.
McDonald (quad) and Phillips (foot) had questionable designations.
Wide receiver AD Mitchell will make his Jets debut after the trade from Indianapolis, where he made nine catches for 152 yards.
The Jets’ inactives are cornerback Azareye’h Thomas (concussion), running back Khalil Herbert (groin), linebacker Ja’Markis Weston, edge rusher Braiden McGregor (shoulder) and tight end Jelani Woods.
The Patriots’ inactives are quarterback Tommy DeVito, running back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe), wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring), tight end Austin Hooper (concussion), linebacker Christian Elliss (hip), defensive tackle Joshua Farmer and offensive lineman Caedan Wallace.
