The Patriots kicked off Week 11 by winning their eighth straight game.
Running back TreVeyon Henderson scored three touchdowns and the Patriots defensed forced a turnover on downs at the two-minute warning to put the finishing touches on a 27-14 home win. The eight-game winning streak leaves the Patriots at 9-2 and in control of the AFC East.
Henderson scored two touchdowns in Week 10 and the rookie has made the most of the expanded opportunities he’s received with Rhamondre Stevenson out of the lineup. The second-round pick finished with 19 carries for 62 yards and five catches for 31 yards on the evening.
One of Henderson’s scores came on a pass from Drake Maye and the current MVP favorite was 25-of-34 for 281 yards to continue his breakout second NFL season. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs had nine catches for 105 yards to lead the way for the receiving corps.
The Jets were able to hang around into the fourth quarter and trailed 24-14 when they forced a punt with 7:29 to play. Any hopes of pulling off the upset dimmed when Justin Fields couldn’t handle a low snap and Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings recovered on the Jets’ 11-yard line. The Jets forced a field goal and moved the ball on their next drive, but the urgency wasn’t where it needed to be and they would have been pressed for time to pull off a stunner even if a fourth-down pass to tight end Jeremy Ruckert wasn’t broken up by defensive back Dell Pettus.
Fields ran 11 times for 67 yards and a touchdown while going 15-of-26 for 116 yards and a touchdown through the air. The touchdown went to recent acquisition John Metchie, but Adonai Mitchell, who was also acquired in a trade, had a pair of drops in his first game for the team.
The Jets had won two straight coming into Thursday and they’ll use the mini-bye to prepare for a Week 12 trip to Baltimore. The Patriots will also hit the road and it will take them to Cincinnati as they look for their first nine-game winning streak in one season since 2017.
Jets quarterback Justin Fields ran for a touchdown in the first quarter and he’s now added a passing touchdown to the ledger.
Fields hit wide receiver John Metchie for a 22-yard score that cut New England’s lead to 21-14 with 3:10 left to play in the third quarter. It was Metchie’s first touchdown catch of the Jets and he was all by himself to catch the pass after safety Jaylinn Hawkins fell down.
The touchdown came on a third down that was set up by wide receiver Adonai Mitchell’s second dropped pass of the night.
Fields is 10-of-15 for 77 yards and the Jets defense will try to keep the lead from growing before the ball is back in his hands.
Drake Maye isn’t doing anything to hurt his MVP bid on Thursday night.
Maye extended the Patriots’ lead over the Jets to 21-7 by floating a six-yard pass to running back TreVeyon Henderson with 7:46 to play in the third quarter. It’s Henderson’s third touchdown of the night and the first one that’s come through the air.
Maye had three other completions on the drive, including a connection with Stefon Diggs that showed just how hard Maye is to stop right now. He was flushed out of the pocket and nearing both the sideline and line of scrimmage when he flicked a pass to a wide-open Diggs for a first down.
Maye is now 19-of-23 for 205 yards and the Jets need to find their way back to the end zone soon if they’re going to have any chance to get back into this one.
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.
