Four Takeaways As Patriots Prove Less Dysfunctional Than Jets In Week 8 Win

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots might not be the most dysfunctional team in the AFC East, after all.

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds remaining to lift New England to a 25-22 victory at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The 2-6 Patriots snapped a six-game losing streak while it marked a fifth straight loss for the 2-6 Jets.

Here are four takeaways from Patriots-Jets:

Drake Maye suffers concussion
Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye exited the game midway through the second quarter and did not return. He was ruled out with a concussion. Maye appeared to suffer the injury when he took a shot to the head by Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood. Sherwood hit Maye as the rookie went into his slide after he gained 18 yards on a scramble. Jacoby Brissett replaced Maye for the final two-plus quarters. Maye’s short-term status is in doubt as he enters the concussion protocol. Ja’Lynn Polk exited last week’s game with a concussion and was inactive against the Jets due to the injury. Maye, who completed three of his six passes for 23 yards and gained 46 yards on three scrambles with one touchdown, is no certainty against the Tennessee Titans in Week 9.

Not a ‘soft’ response
Jerod Mayo labeled the Patriots a “soft” football team after their Week 7 loss because of their inability to run the ball, stop the run and cover kicks. Bill Belichick created headlines of his own with his response to Mayo. Simply put, there was plenty of drama and it was imperative for the Patriots to respond. Ultimately, they did so with their performance in crunch time. New England’s ground game totaled 111 yards rushing on 3.6 yards per carry. It marked their fourth highest output of the season and more than doubled the Week 7 output. New England did struggle in the other two areas, though. The Patriots, who allowed an average of 185 (!) rushing yards per game the last three games, allowed 112 rushing yards to the Jets. Gang Green managed 4.0 yards per carry and ran the ball with ease on a fourth-quarter scoring drive. That would have been the story of the game if the final offensive drive didn’t pan out. The third phase of the game might have been the biggest carryover for the Patriots. The Jets gained 40 yards on their first punt return and an 18-yard return set up New York at midfield for a fourth-quarter drive.

Jacoby Brissett redeems himself in clutch
The veteran quarterback made the most of the opportunity. Brissett, who was benched after five games in favor of Maye, led the Patriots to a pair of scoring drives in the fourth quarter, the first of which gave New England a 17-16 lead with 7:34 remaining. Brissett (15-for-24, 132 yards) then took the field with less than three minutes left and orchestrated a game-winning 12-play, 70-yard possession. It was quite a performance from the previously benched Brissett.

Talkative receivers hindered by drops
Did you hear about all the chatter from the wide receivers this week? Well, Maye was hindered by a pair of receiver drops (Tyquan Thornton, Kayshon Boutte) while Brissett was impacted by two (Kendrick Bourne, Boutte) others. The group combined to drop four passes on New England’s first 17 pass attempts (24%). Thornton came up with a big reception on a fourth-quarter scoring drive and Boutte made a big play on the game-winning drive. But six Patriots wideouts were limited to seven catches for 78 yards on the afternoon. Tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper totaled eight receptions for 60 yards.