Jets season on life support with loss to weak Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Just when you think the Jets can't go any lower, they find a way.

The Jets lost 25-22 to the dismal Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. They gave up a last-minute touchdown, suffered their fifth straight loss and fell to 2-6. They put their season on life support before Halloween.

The Jets took a 22-17 lead with three minutes to play, but the Patriots put together a game-winning performance that would make Tom Brady proud. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, playing in place of the injured Drake Maye, orchestrated a 12-play, 70-yard drive.

Rhamondre Stevenson scored on fourth down from the 1-yard line with 22 seconds to play and then scored the two-point conversion to propel the Jets to a new level.

On the game-winning drive, Brissett gained 14 yards on third down and then threw a 34-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte, who beat Sauce Gardner to send the ball to the Jets' 9-yard line. The Jets stopped them for three plays before Stevenson from the 1st.

The Patriots are on a six-game losing streak and, like the Jets, sit at the bottom of the AFC East at 2-6.

This was ugly all around for the spiral jets. Somehow they missed three timeouts in the first quarter, struggled to move the ball most of the game, had a lot of missed tackles, two delay-of-game penalties, and a few special teams fumbles to top it off.

They needed a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to regain the lead in the fourth quarter. Trailing 17-16, Aaron Rodgers went 3-for-3 for 42 yards on the drive and Breece Hall had 26 yards on the run. Braelon Allen scored a 3-yard touchdown to give the Jets a 22-17 lead. The Jets went for a deuce, but received a delayed game penalty and then Rodgers' pass to Mike Williams fell short.

New England had some early success, highlighted by rookie quarterback Drake Maye opening the scoring with a 17-yard scramble for a touchdown. But Maye suffered a concussion and left the game in the second quarter. The Patriots were very conservative against Brissett and the Jets defense had more success against him.

The reeling Jets now have three days to prepare for Thursday night's game against the Texans at MetLife Stadium.

The Jets responded to Maye's touchdown with one of the strangest touchdown drives you've ever seen. They managed three first downs after Patriots penalties, including two pass interference calls, one of which put the ball on the New England 2. From there, Rodgers threw a touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Conklin. Kicker Greg Zuerlein, who had struggled all year, missed the extra point and the Jets trailed 7-6.

The Jets used three timeouts on the drive, leaving them with 1:31 remaining in the first quarter.

The Jets had their best performance early in the second quarter, gaining 60 yards on eight plays. Rodgers hit Xavier Gipson for a one-yard touchdown and a 13-7 lead.

With Maye out of the game, the Patriots struggled to get anything going, even running out the clock at the end of the first half instead of trying to cut into the Jets' lead.

The Jets received the ball early in the second half but were unable to capitalize on it and had to punt. Patriots returner Marcus Jones returned the punt 62 yards to the Jets' 26 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson scored a three-yard touchdown five plays later and the Patriots took a 14-13 lead with 10:55 left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Rodgers hit Garrett Wilson, giving the Patriots a 35-yard lead. Wilson made a great catch and benefited greatly from the attention the Patriots gave Davante Adams in this game. The Jets reached the Patriots' 11 but could not reach the end zone. Zuerlein hit a 29-yard field goal to give the Jets a 16-14 lead with 7:54 left in the third quarter.

The Jets had another good performance early in the fourth quarter, but faltered again. Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss sacked Rodgers on third down, throwing the Jets back from the 18-yard line to the 26-yard line. This made it a tough kick for the struggling Zuerlein, who missed the 44-yard attempt wide left, bringing the Patriots within two points. Zuerlein has now missed six field goals this season.

The Patriots then went on a 14-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard field goal by Joey Slye and a 17-16 Patriots lead with 7:34 to play. The Jets helped the Patriots drive with some sloppy tackling and a roughing the passer penalty on Micheal Clemons. The Patriots converted a third-and-11 and a third-and-9 on the drive.