The New England Patriots moved to 6-4 on Sunday with a 10-3 win over the rival New York Jets. Mac Jones and Co. again swept the season series against the Jets as the Patriots have now won 14 straight against their AFC East rivals. Rookie Marcus Jones was the hero for New England, as he returned a punt 84 yards for the game-winning touchdown with just five seconds remaining.
Jones' score was the first go-ahead punt return touchdown in regulation since DeSean Jackson scored one for the Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Giants in Week 15 back in 2010. It was also the first punt return touchdown of the 2022 season.
As the final score indicates, this was not exactly an offensive shootout that featured several big plays. Zach Wilson completed just 9-of-22 passes for 77 yards, while Jones completed 23-of-27 passes for 246 yards. Both defenses played incredibly well all afternoon, and combined for 10 total sacks.
With this win, the Jets fall from second place in the division to last, while the Patriots move up to third. All four teams in the AFC East now have at least six wins, and the race to the regular-season finish line is going to be incredible to watch.
Let's take a deeper look at what went down in Foxborough on Sunday.
Why the Patriots won
It felt like the Patriots were the better team all afternoon, but it took them quite some time to prove it. Jones looked much better than his counterpart this afternoon, but New England went 0-2 in the red zone and Nick Folk missed two field goal attempts in windy weather. The game probably shouldn't have been as close as it was, but Jones' incredible last-second touchdown sealed the deal.
Jones' game-winner was obviously a big reason why New England was victorious on Sunday, but credit needs to be given to the defense as well. They sacked Wilson four times, kept pressure on him all afternoon and allowed just 103 yards of total offense! Defense mattered in this matchup. The Patriots have now won 14 straight games against the Jets. That's the longest active winning streak by one team over another.
Why the Jets lost
Jets fans have definitely had to suffer through some anemic offensive performances, but this was one of the worst. Windy conditions didn't exactly aid in the passing game, but Wilson completed 9 of 22 passes for 77 yards. 34 of those 77 yards came on an underthrown pass to Denzel Mims -- who was able to come back and catch the ball since the defensive back was playing the deep pass and running in front of him. New York's run game wasn't any better, as the running backs combined for just 33 rushing yards. The offense overall was terrible.
The Jets recorded 103 yards of total offense. Believe it or not, 101 of those yards came in the first two quarters. That's correct, New York recorded 2 yards of total offense in the second half. The Jets averaged 0.8 yards per play in the third and fourth quarters! Additionally, the Jets had negative 21 pass yards in the second half. That's the fourth-fewest by any team in a second half since 2000. When head coach Robert Saleh was asked after the game about recording 2 yards on seven possessions in the second half, he replied saying, "It was dog shit."
I'm convinced that if the Jets put Mike White in on Sunday, they would have had more offensive success. Wilson has some serious improvements to make. First-round pick Garrett Wilson had just two catches for 12 yards in this matchup, and was caught by CBS cameras yelling in Wilson's direction after the quarterback missed another third-down throw.
This loss was especially tough, because the defense played out of their minds -- all for naught. They sacked Jones six times, held New England to 4 of 15 on third downs and came up with several huge stops. They must be sick.
Turning point/Play of the game
Marcus Jones called game. With 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Jets punted the ball away and did not attempt to send it out of bounds. In hindsight, that was a mistake.
What a time for the first punt return touchdown of the 2022 NFL season.
Quotable
"I'm on to the next week. I'm one of those people." -- Marcus Jones in his postgame press conference
What's next
The Jets return home next week, and will host Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears. As for the Patriots, they are on a short week, as they will travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings on "Thursday Night Football" this Thanksgiving.