By Chad Graff, Zack Rosenblatt and Cale Clinton
In a shocking comeback victory, New England Patriots (2-6) backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett led a 12-play, 70-yard game-winning touchdown drive to complete the 25-22 comeback win over their AFC East division rival New York Jets (2-6). After winning the first matchup of the season, the Jets have now failed to complete a season sweep of the Patriots since 2000, Bill Belichick’s first year coaching the Patriots.
New England spent most of the afternoon, working the ground game. The Patriots combined for 111 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries — their first time with at least 100 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in a game since Sept. 2022. Rhamondre Stevenson led the team with 48 yards on 20 carries, in addition to three receptions for 17 yards, while punching in the team’s final two touchdowns and the game-sealing two-point conversion.
.@dreeday32 WITH 22 SECONDS LEFT 🤯
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/QTUC4h6w6p
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 27, 2024
New England’s offense looked in dire shape after losing rookie quarterback Drake Maye early in the second quarter. Maye took a shot to the helmet and was eventually ruled out with a concussion. Brissett, who started the team’s first five games, took over to lead the comeback victory. Brissett posted 132 passing yards on 15-of-24 completion percentage — his 5.5 yards per attempt tied his high for the season.
Much of New York’s lead-up to Sunday’s action was centered around the new faces. Top wide receiver and recently-reunited Aaron Rodgers teammate Davante Adams had a full week under his belt, his first since being acquired via trade from the Las Vegas Raiders. The Jets also finally resolved their contract dispute with edge rusher Hasson Reddick, who returned to the team after holding out since April. Adams finished the afternoon with 54 yards and four receptions on six targets, while Reddick failed to record a tackle on the afternoon.
Unfortunately for the Jets, the difference-maker was kicker Greg Zuerlein, who finished the loss with a missed 44-yard field goal and his first missed extra point of the season. The 13-year NFL veteran has made just 60 percent of his field goals (9 for 15) this year, the worst mark of his career.
Patriots respond to ‘soft’ comments
Jerod Mayo made lots of headlines last week when he called his team “soft across the board.” Seven days later, his team responded. The offense is far from fixed and could have issues as long as Maye is out with a concussion, but they did what they needed to, putting together a pair of scoring drives in the fourth quarter. And the defense responded with a solid game against a Jets offense loaded with playmakers. The run defense still had occasional issues and this offense still isn’t going to scare anyone, but the Patriots did what they needed to get a much-needed win. Most importantly for the Patriots, the team didn’t fold after Mayo called out the whole squad. — Chad Graff, New England Patriots beat reporter
Brissett’s comeback a nice moment in rough season
Brissett came to the Patriots with the hope and thought that he’d be the team’s starting quarterback this season while mentoring a rookie quarterback. Little went as planned for him. After being named the starter, the Patriots had the second-worst offense with Brissett, eventually benching him in favor of Drake Maye. It would’ve been easy for him to throw in the towel. But Brissett had a feel-good moment at the end of this one, replacing Maye, then leading the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. It was one of three scoring drives that Brissett led in the second half. His final stats aren’t going to blow anyone away (he completed 15 of 24 passes for 132 yards) but for a quarterback had been cast aside, it was a nice moment. — Graff
The Jets’ struggles continue in fifth straight loss
If anyone thought it couldn’t get worse for the Jets after last week’s loss to the Steelers, they were wrong. They lost to a bad Patriots team on Sunday in a game that was close — but wouldn’t have been if they were playing a better opponent. The Jets started off slow, made mistakes on both sides of the ball and the messaging interim coach Jeff Ulbrich had this week — that the Jets had their best week of practice of the season and that Adams’ speech after the Steelers game last week energized them — didn’t come to fruition.
The Jets first scoring drive included two burned timeouts (and all three were burned in the first quarter), a fumbled snap, a drop and, to the Jets luck, two penalties to keep it alive. They went 4-of-10 on third down, were penalized eight times for 55 yards and just generally seemed out of sorts all afternoon. It’s difficult to comprehend how it’s gone so bad, so quickly for a Jets team that had so much hope to start the season. And it’s already fair to say this team will not be making the playoffs. In Week 8. This probably wasn’t the year Rodgers envisioned — and he didn’t exactly help matters with his performance on Sunday, making some questionable decisions and consistently taking too long to get plays off at the line of scrimmage. If this is Rodgers’ last hurrah, it’s not a good one. — Zack Rosenblatt, New York Jets beat reporter
Kicker woes sink Jets
The Jets also will need to find a new kicker ASAP because Zuerlein cost them another game, though it’s not as if they were good in other areas. He’s missed six field goals this season, including one wide left on Sunday from 44 yards. He also missed an extra point. Zuerlein has had a rough season, only converting 60 percent of his field goals, and it appears Ulbrich’s decision to stick with him was a bad one. The Jets need to at least bring in some competition this week. — Rosenblatt
Required reading
- NFL playoff projections 2024: The Athletic’s model predicts the field
- NFL Week 8 scores and live updates: News, inactives, predictions, odds, schedule, channels
- If Jets don’t turn their season around, what will the fallout be for Rodgers, Ulbrich and others?
- Bill Belichick, Jerod Mayo and more Patriots drama ahead of showdown with Jets
(Photo: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images)
