The Patriots didn’t cover the spread this week and they didn’t pitch a shutout, but they are still 3-0 three weeks into the 2019 season.
New England built a 30-0 lead before mistakes by rookies on special teams and offense allowed the Jets to get into the end zone twice. That made the final score 30-14 at Gillette Stadium and gave the Patriots a couple of things to stress about after another comfortable victory.
Gunner Olszewski muffed a punt that Arthur Maulet recovered for the first Jets touchdown. The second came in the fourth quarter when Jarrett Stidham relieved Tom Brady and promptly threw an interception that Jamal Adams returned for a 60-yard score. That led Bill Belichick to put Brady back in the game to play out the string.
Brady was 28-of-42 for 306 yards and two touchdowns. Those touchdowns moved him into sole possession of second place on the NFL’s all-time passing touchdown list and Drew Brees won’t be able to catch up anytime soon.
Brady had a couple of sparkling hookups with Josh Gordon, who shook off a finger injury. Julian Edelman was not able to return to the game after hurting his chest, however, and linebacker Dont’a Hightower also picked up a shoulder injury that will be worth keeping an eye on as the week unfolds.
While the special teams and offense had those stumbles, the Patriots defense never wavered while allowing the Jets 101 yards of offense. They sacked Luke Falk five times and Devin McCourty picked off a pass for the only takeaway of the game for the unit.
The Jets are 0-3 and riddled with injuries of their own. They’ll have a bye in Week Four and hope to get quarterback Sam Darnold and others back for Week Five against the Eagles.