Aaron Rodgers pilots the New York Jets past the New England Patriots 24-3 to move to 2-1 for the first time since 2015 Thursday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Jets led 14-3 at halftime, but a short 2-yard TD pass from Aaron Rodgers to Garrett Wilson pushed their lead to 18.

Two drives later New York would add another score on the board when Greg Zuerlein knocked down a 28-yard field goal to put the game away and earn the Jets first home win against New England since 2015.

New York was led Aaron Rodgers, who displayed a vintage performance in his first home game since his devastating Achilles injury last season. Rodgers totaled 281 yards on 27/35 passing with 2 touchdowns.

Tyler Conklin gathered 5 receptions for 93 yards and Allen Lazard had 3 receptions for 48 yards with a touchdown.

Garrett Wilson recorded 5 catches for 33 yards and a touchdown.

The Jets rushing offense was also hitting on all cylinders against the tough Patriots defense. Running backs, Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, combined for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Will McDonald IV continues to have an impressive season on defense, as he led the NY defense to only allow three points. McDonald recorded 2 sacks, 1 TFL, and 4 QB hits.

New England were led by DeMario Douglas, who was responsible for 57.7% of the Patriots receiving yards. Douglas compiled 69 yards on 7 receptions.

Jacoby Brissett, who was taken out of the game late in the 4^th quarter, finished with 98 yards on 12/19. Brissett was sacked 5 times.

Drake Maye received his first taste of NFL action against the Jets. Maye threw for 22 yards on 4/8 passing. On just one drive, he was sacked twice.

Patriots Battered on a Short Week

After their tough loss to the Seahawks last Sunday, many speculated how much the New England offense could improve and develop in just four days. However, the Patriots’ offensive performance against the Jets suggests that they may have regressed.

In the first half versus the NY Jets, New England could only amount to 49 total yards, fewest since Week 7 of 2010.

Throughout the entire game, the Patriots could only gather 139 yards, 11 1^st downs, and 3 total points.

“I thought the offense line today had a hard time,” said head coach Jerod Mayo. “There were times earlier in the game where the pocket looked pretty clean, but as the game wore on, similar to last week, [things] started falling apart as far as the protection”.

The New England offense line allowed 7 sacks and 15 QB hits against a talented Jets pass rush. Over the past three games, Patriots QB’s have been sacked 11 times.

“We have to get better up front,” said David Andrews. “We’re going to work, and we are going to try to do everything we can to be better. That’s not sustainable and that’s not winning football”.

So far, New England has played eight different offensive linemen and have not figured out how to get them to mesh up front.

“Whether it’s injury or whatever it is, we haven’t found the right combination,” said Jerod Mayo.

One, and potentially the only, bright spot of the Patriots’ offense was them getting DeMario Douglas involved. Last week, Jerod Mayo emphasized that the coaching staff must scheme up ways to utilize him. Against the Jets, Douglas was targeted nine times, more than the previous two weeks combined.

New England played uncharacteristically sloppy on defense by missing 14 tackles. The Jets gained over 100 yards on plays where the Patriots missed a tackle.

“Very uncharacteristic,” said Jerod Mayo. “It’s one of the things I’m very disappointed in as a defensive minded head coach, especially the second level”.

The Patriots struggled to take the Jets’ offense off the field and end drives. New York went 10-15 on 3^rd down conversions and earned 27 1^st downs, they’re most so far this season.

Aaron Rodgers and the Jets dominated the time of possession by being on the field for 2/3 of the game.

“[We’ve] got a long weekend, so we just got to watch the tape,” said Jabrill Peppers. “We know we’ve got to be better, and we will be better”.

Up Next

Next Week the New England Patriots stay on the road to travel to San Francisco to take on Brock Purdy and the 49ers. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets will stay at MetLIfe Stadium and welcome the Denver Broncos next Sunday.