A long night in the Meadowlands ended early for the visitors from Foxborough.
The New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets 24-3 at MetLife Stadium on Thursday, losing 1-2 under head coach Jerod Mayo.
Here’s a first look back at the AFC East opener.
Brissett throws 98 points in an unstoppable fight to stay upright
The 1-1 start lacked vertical passing. During prime time, Jacoby Brissett was unable to stay in the pocket long enough to retrieve the ball.
New England’s starting quarterback completed 12 of 18 passes for 98 yards against New York. The 31-year-old team captain neither managed a touchdown nor a turnover. At halftime, he was on the field for 9:17 minutes and was trailing 14:3. Up to that point, 36 yards had been covered through the air.
After the team broke huddles in “12” personnel after a delay, the opening drive became two yards and a three-and-out. The ensuing series included six plays, a sack and ended with another punt for the Patriots. Dropbacks were answered with steady pressure. A punt began the second half. Longs of 19 and 22 ended as brief glimpses as another possession fizzled with penalty flags. In relief, Drake Maye made his NFL debut with 4:24 left. The No. 3 pick from North Carolina recorded two sacks, two scrambles and finished the game 4 of 8 passing for 22 yards.
Wallace makes his first NFL start as left tackle for bleeding O-Line
With Chukwuma Okorafor on the roster for the left team and Vederian Lowe missing from the final injury list due to knee problems, a rookie made his first NFL appearance as left tackle.
Caedan Wallace, drafted No. 68 out of Penn State, took over the position in the overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He remained the blindside protector on Thursday night, while two of the three penalties against him were dismissed. Near him were 53-man promotion player Michael Jordan at left guard, captain David Andrews at center, fellow rookie Layden Robinson at right guard and Mike Onwenu at right tackle.
Seven sacks followed for the offensive line against a Jets defense that started the night with seven. Micheal Clemons and Will McDonald IV shared the first. Blitzing safety Chuck Clark had the next. And the aforementioned McDonald returned to help with another pair, while Quincy Williams, Javon Kinlaw and Takkarist McKinley also got in on the act. Sophomore guard Sidy Sow missed his third straight game due to a preseason ankle injury.
A green-dotted captain is missing in the middle
The Patriots will be without defensive captain Ja’Whaun Bentley, who reportedly suffered a torn pectoral muscle, and his absence leaves three consecutive 100-tackle campaigns and the green dot of communication behind.
That decal was supposed to be on Jahlani Tavai’s helmet to signal decisions against the Jets. There was an unnecessary roughness penalty early on. And off the ball, fellow linebacker Raekwon McMillan was in the lineup for the first time in over two years. The former Ohio State national champion’s 2021 and 2023 seasons ended on the injured list before they could begin. He remained in the game and recorded 10 tackles on Thursday, the most on his team, but began the evening with a fumble that moved the chains 11 yards. It wouldn’t be the last missed stop for a unit that lost pursuit angles. Joe Giles-Harris served as a standard elevation from the practice squad and was active in the kicking game.
Jets running back Breece Hall had 16 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown. He also had 29 receiving yards by the end of the game. 20-year-old rookie Braelon Allen added 68 scrimmage yards. New England’s front line held previous opponents to 4.4 yards per carry and then this fall to 2.4 yards per carry.
Ground game goes downhill
The Patriots had rushed for over 170 yards in two back-to-back games for the first time since 2020. And a few days before the game against the Jets, the two running backs at the top of the list were the first since 2014 to both rush for more than 80 yards on the ground.
Rhamondre Stevenson couldn’t pick up where he left off. The starter, who underwent facemask surgery for a stiff arm, managed 23 yards on six carries on Thursday, including a long one of 13 yards. He lost a fumble in the final quarter. It was his third in as many weeks. The previous ones were recovered.
Antonio Gibson, who had just set his personal best of 45 yards, ran for 29 yards on several attempts. JaMycal Hasty was substituted into the backfield for the two-minute drill.
After zero targets, Douglas leads New England’s wideouts
In the home opener at Gillette Stadium, tight end Hunter Henry was responsible for 53 percent of pass catches and 73 percent of receiving yards for New England. But such a career day was not a good sign for the collective air attack. Not when the wide receivers on the squad caught three passes between them.
That discrepancy had to be corrected in East Rutherford. Rookie Ja’Lynn Polk, who found the end zone for the players in the overtime loss, caught two passes for 13 yards. KJ Osborn remained catchless as the starter alongside him. But after not having an official target, DeMario Douglas suddenly stepped up and caught seven passes for 69 yards in nine opportunities. The Liberty product’s evening began with him gaining a single yard from the field and later included a play-action pickup of 22 yards.
All six members of the lineup were active for the first time this fall. Tyquan Thornton drew unnecessary toughness and defensive pass interference.
Rodgers is in rhythm and completes 27 of 35 pass attempts
Aaron Rodgers called Christian Gonzalez an “elite player” ahead of the divisional meeting. The four-time NFL MVP was allowed to test the Patriots’ cornerback coverage on Thursday.
It started with a slant route for five. Gonzalez was often in the shadow of Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who by the end of the evening had a total of five pass catches on nine attempts for 33 yards and a touchdown, and started on the perimeter alongside Jonathan Jones. Marcus Jones occupied the slot in the nickel defense. Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers joined them as the punt team quickly got into it. But there were still longer periods of time on the field to come. And the latter safety had to go to the locker room with an ankle injury. By halftime, a total of 39 official snaps had accumulated.
Rodgers showed the agility of old, completing 27 of 35 aerial passes for 281 yards with two touchdowns. He distributed his passes with ease, his first six passes found the right hands and a 13-play, 98-yard run also found the end zone. He also connected with his former teammate on the Green Bay Packers, Allen Lazard, for a touchdown. Marco Wilson was dropped for New England’s cornerback group, moving Alex Austin up a rung on the ladder.
No. 99 kept out of the sack column
With four sacks in two games, Keion White was in second place in the NFL rankings at the start of the evening. The converted tight end from Old Dominion and Georgia Tech was unable to improve this number despite narrow chances.
White rounded out a Patriots starting defensive line that included Davon Godchaux, Daniel Ekuale and outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings. A hold was drawn on the opening series against right tackle Morgan Moses. A turnaround and pressure followed, but No. 99 failed to finish on a night when leads were lost more often than they were gained.
The Patriots recorded two sacks against the 40-year-old Jets quarterback. Captain Deatrich Wise Jr. and Joshua Uche caught them.
Check-in for special teams
Shortly after a block, Patriots kicker Joey Slye scored his only field goal against the Jets. The conversion goal came from 44 yards away in the second quarter.
His owner still had more work to do.
Bryce Baringer’s right leg was used for five punts worth 245 yards at MetLife, including 57 long and three punts inside the 20 yards for the reigning PFWA All-Rookie. He was third in the league in average and second in inside-the-20s entering the evening. A missed tackle by core coverage player Brenden Schooler was followed by a 21-yard return.
