Patriots vs. Jets: Drake Maye's 3 Touchdown Passes Carry Banged-Up New England Past New York in Week 6

Drake Maye has spent the last three weeks throwing touchdown passes like he's speedrunning a video game. On Sunday he needed every single one, because the offensive line in front of him was coming apart like a cheap Jenga tower.

Maye threw three touchdown passes and the New England Patriots outlasted the New York Jets 26-19 at Gillette Stadium, surviving two lost fumbles, a missed extra point, three offensive linemen leaving with injuries and an onside kick with 32 seconds left. Mike Vrabel's postgame review was not exactly a five-star rating: "We're lucky to win, is probably where I'd start, but we're happy that we won."

Fast Start, Wobbly Middle, Just Enough Finish

The Jets opened with a 13-play, 6:43 grind that stalled into a Jason Sanders field goal, and for a moment it looked like Aaron Glenn's team had the script it wanted. Then Milton Williams and Christian Barmore sacked Geno Smith on back-to-back snaps, New York punted from deep in its own end, and Maye needed exactly two plays to flip it. His 42-yard throw found Romeo Doubs, who laid out for a diving touchdown and paid for it with a shoulder injury that ended his day.

The second quarter belonged to New England's front seven. The Jets were stuffed on fourth down on consecutive possessions, first when Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss stopped Braelon Allen on fourth-and-2 at the Patriots' 30, then when Gabe Jacas stoned Smith on fourth-and-1 at the 39. Andy Borregales hit from 32, and Maye closed the half with a seven-play, 71-yard sprint in 1:09 that ended with a 9-yard strike to DeMario Douglas with 14 seconds left. Halftime: 17-3, Patriots.

Then the wheels got wobbly. Smith hit rookie Omar Cooper Jr. behind the defense for a 48-yard touchdown, and on New England's next series David Bailey ripped the ball from TreVeyon Henderson, with Jamien Sherwood recovering at the Patriots' 36. New York reached the 10 before Elijah Ponder looped around for a sack, and Sanders settled for a 36-yarder to make it 17-13.

Maye answered with a 12-play, 68-yard drive capped by a 7-yard touchdown to Hunter Henry, though Borregales missed the extra point. Four snaps later, cornerback Charles Woods picked off a deep Smith throw intended for Kenyon Sadiq. New England promptly gave it back when Douglas was stripped at the end of a 39-yard catch, and Sanders made it 23-16. The Patriots then fed Corey Kiner until the Jets begged for mercy, burning 6:08 on a 13-play drive that ended with a 27-yard Borregales kick. Sanders' fourth field goal made it 26-19 with 32 seconds left, but tight end Eli Raridon came up with the onside kick and that was that.

Maye Stays Patient While Everything Burns

Maye finished 18 of 32 for 235 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and no sacks, good for a 110.8 passer rating. According to the AP, it was his third consecutive game with at least three touchdown passes, and the Patriots say the Doubs bomb was his 10th touchdown of 30-plus yards over the last two seasons, the most in the NFL. He also became the eighth Patriot to reach 8,000 career passing yards.

He did it behind a line that was basically assembled from spare parts by the fourth quarter. Right tackle Morgan Moses (ankle), left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) and right guard Ben Brown (knee) all left, and the Jets, who entered tied for fourth in the league with 17 sacks, finished with zero for the first time this season. Maye's review of his blockers was the best quote of the day: "They're fighting their butts off, and it goes through them."

Douglas tied a career high with seven catches for 86 yards and a score. Kiner, the third running back on the depth chart, carried a career-high 11 times for 57 yards, 42 of them on that clock-killing final march.

The Pick That Ended a Streak

The real hinge was Woods. Smith had not thrown an interception all season, and the Jets were driving at 23-13 with plenty of time to make it a one-score game. Woods was in the right spot at the right time, ending the longest interception-free start of Smith's career on his 166th throw of the year. It was also Woods' first career pick and the first interception anyone had made against the Jets in 2026. He took the moment in stride.

"In my heart, I still think I play offense. I still think I'm a receiver at heart," Woods said.

Stats That Matter

• 0-for-3: The Jets in the red zone. Four Sanders field goals tell the whole story.
• 2: Fourth-down stops by New England, both in the second quarter, both runs.
• 3-of-10: New York on third down.
• 19 of 21: New England's record in its last 21 meetings with the Jets, including four straight.

Wins in Bunches, Injuries Too

After a 1-2 start that included losses at Seattle and Jacksonville, New England is 4-2, has won three straight and is 3-0 at home and 2-0 in the AFC East. The problem is the calendar: the Patriots visit the Bears on Thursday night with their line held together by tape and good intentions. A.J. Brown's return from injured reserve was rocky, with three catches for 27 yards on 10 targets. "I'm much better than what I put on display today, there's no excuses. I'll be better," Brown said.

The Jets drop to 2-4 and leave with a stat sheet that looks competitive and a scoreboard that doesn't. Cooper had six catches for 103 yards in his return from an ankle injury, and Smith threw for 252, but three trips inside the 20 produced zero touchdowns. Glenn pointed the finger inward. "I think we gifted two touchdowns that shouldn't have happened," he said. Miami visits next Sunday.

Ugly Counts the Same

Maye, to his credit, didn't pretend this was art. "It was sloppy. It wasn't clean," he said. Milton Williams summed up the whole vibe with his back-to-back sack story: "I was too tired to even celebrate, but Barmore got his on the next play." That's the 2026 Patriots in one sentence. Exhausted, banged up and still finding a way. Vrabel gave his team about an hour to enjoy it. Then it's on to Chicago on a short week.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and the New England Patriots (patriots.com).