Curtis Martin celebrates one of his three touchdowns against his former team.(AP)

"Right now, they're the enemy," he said. "I don't wish them bad. I wish them all the success, except when they play us."

The Jets tied idle Miami for the AFC East lead at 5-1 after losing to Pittsburgh 20-3 a week earlier. Testaverde left that game after his first offensive play when he pinched a nerve in his neck. Coach Al Groh played coy and didn't reveal whether Testaverde or Ray Lucas would start.

Testaverde said he felt an occasional tingling in his left arm, but not as much pain as he did last Sunday. As long as he could hand off to Martin, the Jets should be OK.

"He's sure making me look good," Testaverde said. "Curtis is our workhorse. We go as he goes."

The Jets defense did well, too, as Drew Bledsoe was sacked a career-high seven times. It forced six turnovers from a team that had five in its other six games. The win set up a showdown for first place next Monday night with the Dolphins.

"The important lesson for our team is that, in this league, just because you win one week doesn't mean you're going to win next week," Groh said. "Momentum is an overstated thing."

It was for the Patriots (2-5). They won consecutive games against Denver and Indianapolis after losing their first four.

"Right now, time is of the essence," Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson said, "and we've got no time."

The Jets wasted little time capitalizing on New England mistakes to take a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. A fumble led to Martin's 2-yard touchdown run, and Victor Green followed with 21-yard interception return for a touchdown.

"We were in a hole," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said, "but there was time. We felt we could come back, but they had the answers."

The Jets answered with Martin, who rushed 34 times. He had his second 100-yard rushing game this season and his ninth biggest output of his six NFL seasons. He also rushed for three touchdowns for the second time in his career.

"We all know the type of running back that Curtis is," Patriots cornerback Ty Law said. "A team that runs the ball is hard to beat."

Since Martin left after rushing for more than 1,100 yards in each of his three seasons, the Patriots have had a different starting running back every year -- Robert Edwards in 1998, Terry Allen in 1999 and Kevin Faulk this year. Faulk did run for a 9-yard touchdown that made the score 14-10 Sunday, but it was only New England's second rushing touchdown of the season.

Bledsoe did score on a 13-yard run for his first career touchdown with 9:38 left in the game. All that did was cut the lead to 31-17, and John Hall added a 27-yard field goal for the Jets.

Martin ran through a Patriots defense missing starting tackle Chad Eaton with a knee injury.

He rushed for only 47 yards in the Jets' 20-19 win over the Patriots on Sept. 11 and 59 yards against the Steelers. But on Sunday he rushed for three touchdowns for only the second time in his six seasons; he did it for the Patriots on Nov. 3, 1996 against Miami.

After Faulk's fumble was recovered by Bryan Cox, Martin got the first touchdown before Green scored 55 seconds later. The Patriots closed to 14-10 on Adam Vinatieri's 23-yard field goal and Faulk's touchdown.

Martin scored again on a 4-yard run that capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive helped by a trick play. The Jets gambled on a fourth-and-2 at the Patriots 22 when they lined up in field-goal formation, then came out of it. Linebacker Mo Lewis took a pitchout and ran 3 yards.

"I didn't expect to come out and do it today," Lewis said. "When they called it, I was shocked."

Martin scored on another 2-yard run for a 31-10 lead late in the third quarter.

The Jets took a 24-10 halftime lead on Hall's 38-yard field goal after Bledsoe fumbled when he was sacked by John Abraham, and Shaun Ellis recovered at the Patriots 43.

"That was our poorest performance of the year," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "We got outplayed and outcoached in every phase of the game."

Notes

• The Patriots managed 51 yards rushing, led by Faulk's 26.
• The Jets held the ball for 37:54 of the 60 minutes. In their first meeting, New York's 20-19 win on Sept. 11, the Patriots had it for 38:00.
• Abraham hurt his shoulder and said "hopefully, everything will be OK for the game against Miami."
• The Patriots are 4-27 in their last 31 games when they scored less than 20 points, 36-4 when they scored 20 or more.
• The Jets are 6-1 in their last seven games against the Patriots.