Drake Maye Threw Three Touchdowns. The Jets Kept Bringing Home Field Goals.

If the Jets want somebody to compliment them for looking competitive, they can find a nicer person than me. New York moved the ball and got into scoring range over and over, but New England came away with a 26-19 win because the Patriots actually finished drives. The Jets' four field goals tell you plenty about how frustrating that offense was.

Drake Maye threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, but his real damage came on the downs that count. He completed six of ten third-down passes for 87 yards and two scores. New England moved the chains on eight of 15 third downs and finished with 383 yards and 22 first downs. That is quarterback play turning drives into points instead of spending the afternoon admiring yardage.

Drake Maye wasn't flawless, but he threw three touchdown passes without an interception. DeMario Douglas caught seven balls for 86 yards and a touchdown; Hunter Henry and Romeo Doubs supplied the other scoring catches. That's how you make a defense pay. New England also converted eight of fifteen third downs, repeatedly extending possessions instead of settling for whatever happened to be available.

DeMario Douglas caught seven for 86 and a score; Hunter Henry had four for 48 and a touchdown; Romeo Doubs got the other touchdown. Corey Kiner rushed 11 times for 57 yards. New England still lost two fumbles and had offensive-line injuries to deal with, so nobody needs to pretend the game was spotless. But when Maye got to scoring territory, he made the Jets pay.

Geno Smith's numbers are not the problem by themselves. He completed 20 of 30 for 252 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Omar Cooper Jr. had six catches for 103, including a 48-yard touchdown, while Braelon Allen rushed 17 times for 78 yards. New York moved it enough to give itself a real chance, but the Jets went 0-for-3 in the red zone, 0-for-2 on fourth down and 3-for-10 on third. That's the full problem in one ugly stat line.

New England produced 22 first downs while the Jets managed 324 total yards and still had to settle for four field goals. The story isn't just that Maye found Douglas and Henry in the end zone. He also stopped the Patriots from giving away a winnable division game when the receivers weren't always helping him. If A.J. Brown catches more than three of his ten targets, this probably doesn't finish as a nervous seven-point win.

The play that decided the game

New York's early fourth-down decisions were aggressive and understandable. I don't hate trying to turn short yardage into seven points. I hate failing twice and then acting like the points you left behind are just bad luck. New England built a 17-3 advantage while the Jets were wasting possessions, and New York spent the rest of the day trying to make the scoreboard forgive those failures.

A.J. Brown also returned for New England, and ten targets produced just three catches and 27 yards. He looked rusty, and there were drops. I'm not writing off a proven veteran for one afternoon back from injury. But if the Patriots want Maye's passing game to become genuinely dangerous, those high-value throws need to be caught. Douglas, Henry and Doubs did the finishing while Brown found his footing.

6ix's take

My take: Maye won the important downs. Geno showed he can make the tough throws, but the Jets keep finding creative ways to be competitive without doing enough to win. Four field goals are cute for fantasy kickers. They are not a substitute for touchdowns in a divisional game.