Patriots vs. Jets: Fan observations from Week 6 win

There’s just something about a Jets Victory Monday that just hits different.

I know the rivalry is more or less gone and the Jets haven’t been relevant since Mark Sanchez. But still. These games always serve as a nice reminder for me what my life could have been. I grew up in Connecticut, so I had to choose between Boston and New York at a fairly young age. And while I’d like to think that, had I chosen poorly, I would have least been a Giants fan, you never know.

And luckily, I never will.

1. I think what I like most about this win is that it’s a good reminder that the Patriots are legit again. Because objectively, this wasn’t their best showing. Drake Maye was inaccurate at times and missed some reads. The defense gave up big plays and had trouble containing the run. Drops (more on that later) and turnovers cost this team drives and points. But they did enough to win and Mike Vrabel outcoached Aaron Glenn. The Patriots made plays when they needed to and got a fairly ugly divisional win to move to 4-2.
2. And in years past, not too long ago in fact, we all would have been so happy that they actually won a game that we wouldn’t have cared at all how they got there. But we’re now able to separate the ugly wins from the solid ones, which is a nice place to be.
3. The next step is to get the Patriots back to that place where a win like this one would have the Boston media spending the entire week asking if the coach should be fired and if maybe the quarterback’s championship window is closing. Remember those games? Belichick and Brady would squeak by the Jets to move to 8-0 on the year and if you didn’t watch the game and only listened to The Sports Hub you’d think they lost 45-0 and Tommy B literally soiled himself on the 50-yard line.
4. So, while we’re not quite at that level yet, it’s good to see us at a place where we can be happy with the win while also acknowledging that it wasn’t their best game.
5. If there is a heaven, every Patriots game on the 5,000-inch TV in my 50,000-square-foot mansion will take place at 1 p.m. on a beautiful October afternoon where New England defers and gets the ball in the second half.
6. And if there’s a hell, I would imagine you find yourself in a situation where you get drafted by the Jets, finally get out and play elsewhere, but then somehow end back on the Jets.
7. I actually like Geno Smith. He’s a decent QB and will win you some games. And he actually had a fairly decent showing yesterday. But some very questionable play-calling and falling short in situational football…um… situations… ended up being what decided this one.
8. If you follow my writing, you know how strongly I feel about the delayed shotgun draw play on 3rd-and-short. I can’t imagine a worse play call for that situation. Or at least I couldn’t, until I saw the Jets try the same thing on 4th-and-short. On multiple occasions.
9. The Jets had consecutive eight-play drives into New England territory and came away with zero points both times. Overall, I like how the NFL has generally gotten more aggressive with going for it on 4th-and-short. But sometimes, you gotta take the points.
10. Though the Jets are always gonna Jet, aren’t they? Odds are they miss both field goal attempts or botch the snap or a false start knocks them out of range. So what do I know.
11. The game plan on defense seemed to be, from my vantage at least, cede yards on the ground and force long drives, knowing that the Patriots defense is superior to the Jets offense. And other than a busted coverage for a long score, it was effective. That wildly annoying 48-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. was the only time all game the Jets found the end zone, so that means it was a pretty successful day overall.
12. What makes that touchdown so annoying is that it made the game 17-10 instead of 24-3, which is what the score should have been if A.J. Brown had decided to screw his hands on yesterday. That man could spend an entire Spring Break walking naked through the streets of Tijuana and not catch a damn thing.
13. I don’t want to harp too much on Brown’s drops, as I’m very much hoping that he was just really, really, really, really, really rusty after missing 28 days of football. But he was targeted 10 times. He caught three passes. He dropped four passes, two of which would have been touchdowns. The other two would have moved the chains. And then for some unholy reason the Patriots had him out there on the goddam HANDS TEAM and he flubbed the onside kick. If there’s a Patriots receiver who has had a worse game, I don’t know who that is. Sure, Joey Galloway spent his brief Patriots career running the wrong routes… but when Tom Brady threw him the ball, he caught it. And Chad Ochocinco was a ghost, but he didn’t cost the team points. What a disaster of a game from Brown.
14. Live look at Jason Sanders lining up for the onside kick. That might be the first time I ever saw a kicker deliberately aim at a receiver.
15. Though to give him credit, he ran a crossing route that pulled the safety up and completely freed Romeo Doubs on his touchdown catch. So Brown gets the assist there. But by my calculation, one TD assist only cancels out one TD drop. So, he’s still in the red.
16. One other bit of good news: A.J. Brown got 10 targets because he got open so much. So, the foot and the legs are fine. And he’s still able to read a coverage and find the open areas with the best of them. It’s just a matter of whether or not he also broke both of his hands in addition to spraining his ankle.
17. So with the WR3 on IR, the WR2 injured in the first quarter, and the WR1 unable to catch a cold on the first day of preschool, what did Drake Maye do? He went to his WR4 and his TE1, as DeMario Douglas and Hunter Henry led the team in receiving. Douglas had one of his best games as a Patriot, although I find it wildly ironic that the one time he didn’t catch a pass, start running forward, and then trip over himself to fall to the ground, the ball gets punched out and he loses it.
18. Whatever chemistry that Henry and Maye were missing earlier in the year, they got it back and then some. The Jets making the bold decision to simply not cover Henry on multiple third downs aside, he knows exactly where he’s supposed to be and knows exactly where he’s supposed to go. Henry has quietly become one of this franchise’s best tight ends of all time. He’s top-5 for sure, and you could even make a case for top-3. One of the better free agency signings of the 2020s.
19. I love playing the “Who The Hell is That Guy?” game in August when the Patriots have three guys all wearing the No. 37 out on the field in the fourth quarter of a meaningless preseason game. I very much hate playing that game in October with the men charged with protecting the quarterback.
20. Thank Tebow that Will Campbell is tough as nails and decided to play yesterday. And another thank you to Tebow that the Patriots chose to go O-line with their first pick in the 2026 draft. Otherwise, we might have seen Milton Williams and Christian Barmore out there pass blocking.
21. That said… what a day from that line. Sometimes a zero-sack day can be a little deceiving, as the QB could spend the afternoon running for his life or just barely get the ball out before he gets decapitated. But not yesterday; Drake Maye had time to throw and only moved when he needed to, all with a line that was 60% third-stringers and rookies. Against a very stout Jets front line, I should add.
22. Has TreVeyon Henderson done anything of note this year? He had a long run for a touchdown against the Steelers, but the hole on that run was so big the entire Klump Family could have walked through it on their way to Old Country Buffet. Kudos to him for playing through an ankle injury, but at the moment the only thing he seems well suited for is running up the gut into a crowded line to set up a 2nd-and-8. Maybe they’re saving some of the more creative receiving packages for him until later in the year.
23. The running game as a whole, though, was exactly what we needed it to be, particularly late. Rhamondre Stevenson did just enough to keep the defense honest and make it so the Jets didn’t start laughing on a play action, and then when it was time to close out the game, Corey Kiner took eight straight carries 42 yards to ice the game. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the Pats have a three-headed monster; they more have a one-headed ogre who has two large lumps on his neck. But if Henderson does ever get his act together and the offensive line is actually able to take the field, they’re going to be able to close out games.
24. I want to close out this week’s Fan Notes by giving some special love (not that kind of special love. Get your minds out of the gutter) to Elijah Ponder. Undrafted in 2025, the man is turning into a wrecking ball. Him and Gabe Jacas on the outside with Milton Williams and Christian Barmore on the inside could be one of the better defensive lines in the league. Behind him is Robert Spillane, and Harold Landry will be coming back at some point as well. Plus Carlton Davis is on the mend. But back to Ponder. I’ll always have a soft spot for late-round or undrafted defensive guys proving 31 other teams wrong.

4-1 in the AFC, 2-0 in the division. The Bills barely snuck past a Raiders team the Patriots housed last week. Mini-bye coming up after what is going to be a very tough Thursday night game against a hot Bears team. I hate TNF for so many reasons; let’s just hope the Patriots are able to field enough healthy linemen.