Patriots 26, Jets 19

 

After a 1-2 start to the season, the New England Patriots go 3-0 and are now 4-2 after six weeks. 

Yesterday, they beat the New York Jets in a divisional game. The Jets scored first, a field goal, but the Patriots answered with a touchdown on a 42-yard Drake Maye pass to Romeo Daubs, and never trailed after that. Maye finished with three TDs and 235 passing yards on 18 of 32 attempts. No sacks, no fumbles, no interceptions. 

The big news for the Pats may be the return to play of AJ Brown. However, he went only 3-for-10 yesterday with 27 yards, fourth among New England receivers. Demario Douglas led all receivers with 86 yards and one TD. In addition to that and Daubs' first-quarter catch, Hunter Henry (48 yards) had a receiving TD as well. 

Corey Kiner led the New England running backs with 57 yards. Maye had a total of 24 yards rushing, mostly on one 21-yard run in the third quarter, the longest by any Patriot in the game. 

New England (4-2) is still in second place in the AFC East standings. Buffalo (5-1) won yesterday, barely holding off the Raiders, 33-30 (the Patriots beat the Raiders, 45-17, last week). If the season were to end with the standings as they are now, New England would have the first Wild Card spot in the AFC.

Patriot fans won't have to wait long for the next game - they play Thursday night against the 4-2 Bears in Chicago (8:15 pm). Led by QB Caleb Williams (USC) and former Georgia Bulldog running back D'Andre Swift, their potent running game (1239 yards, third best in the NFL), will be a challenge for New England's mid-level rushing defense. However, Maye should be able to find some success against Chicago's mid-level passing defense. Still, New England is a three-point underdog going into the game.