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In perhaps the most shocking stat of the game, the Jets had no sacks against a New England Patriots offensive line that lost three starters in the game, tackle Morgan Moses (ankle), and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) in the second quarter, and then guard Ben Brown (knee) early in the fourth quarter.
With 7:24 left in the fourth quarter, the Jets narrowed the Patriots’ lead to 23-16 with a Jason Sanders field goal.
But then, the Patriots, with three backup offensive linemen, proceeded to go on a clock-killing drive, possessing the ball for 6:08, driving the ball 51 yards on 13 plays, in a drive that ended with an Andy Borregales 27-yard field goal.
On this drive, the Patriots were effective running the ball with the three backup linemen, and when they passed, there was little pass rush.
At this point of the game, the Patriots were using two journeyman guards, Matt Pryor (who is 6-7 and more of a tackle) and Walter Rouse. The fill-in right tackle was 2026 first-round pick Caleb Lomu, who shut down David Bailey.
After being put in Canton last week by some in the media, Bailey got very little done as a pass rusher on Sunday, and also had two penalties. Bailey also had what some in New England thought was a late hit on Drake Maye, which was not called.
After that late hit, in the eyes of some, that wasn’t called, Patriots radio analyst Scott Zolak unloaded on Bailey.
“Bailey is a good player, but he’s acting like a punk today,” Zolak said. “Either you are being poorly coached, or you are undisciplined as a player.”
Perhaps some would cut Bailey a little slack for his pedestrian performance today as a pass rusher because he faced Moses and then Lomu (one of the best tackles in the 2026 draft). What was the excuse for the Jets’ defensive tackles getting pushed around on that long, late drive by two backup guards?
Journeyman backup running back Corey Kiner, who is on his fourth team, looked like a Pro Bowler on that 6:08 minute drive.
In the middle of the drive, there was a 12-yard run by Kiner, and on the play, the Jets’ two interior defensive linemen, T’Vondre Sweat and Jowon Briggs, were locked up by Pryor and Rouse, with no help. Neither DT was double-teamed, and Kiner ran through a gaping hole up the middle.
For what is supposed to be a much-improved defense to allow a Patriots offense, with three backup offensive linemen, to march down the field like that, and eat so much clock, with the Jets desperately needing the ball back, was somewhat embarrassing . . .
The Jets went for it twice on fourth-and-short in the second quarter, while in field goal range, and failed on both of them. On both occasions, they were down 7-3. So they could have been up 9-7.
On the first one, Braelon Allen gained one yard on a fourth-and-two. While Allen is a very talented runner, some argue he’s not the best on these plays because he’s over 6-1 and runs with an upright running style.
He’s good at so many different runs, and on passes out of the backfield, as he showed today, but in that one scenario, you might want a runner with a lower center of gravity, who can get under the pad level of tall defensive linemen.
The second failed fourth down was on a fourth-and-one, and Geno Smith ran a QB sneak and didn’t get it.
Allen was lined up behind Smith, and Zolak pointed out something quite insightful about a major issue with this play that many probably don’t realize.
According to Zolak, Allen was lined up too deep.
“Allen gave it away – he is seven and a half yards behind the center – you know he’s not getting it (when he’s that deep),” Zolak said.
Now, without having access to the playbook or the game plan, it’s hard to blame Allen for how far back he lined up. Was it his idea, or was he told to be that far back?
But Zolak feels the Patriots’ defenders knew he wasn’t getting the ball with how far back he was, so they could focus more on stopping a Smith QB sneak . . .
One narrative after the game that was pushed was that Garrett Wilson wasn’t targeted enough.
Once again, this isn’t fantasy football, and is way down on the list of reasons the Jets lost today, and in fact, the Jets biggest play of the game, was Smith hitting Cooper for a 48-yard TD in the third quarter. What helped set up this play was the extra attention Wilson got from the defense.
And let’s not forget, one of the NFL’s best corners, Christian Gonzalez, was following Wilson a lot today.
So not sure where this “Wilson isn’t getting the ball enough” narrative is coming from, but you could also argue that Kenyon Sadiq and Isaiah Williams didn’t get the ball enough today. A lot of people didn’t.
On a number of plays in this game, it seemed like Smith wasn’t trusting his eyes against some of the coverage looks presented by New England. Kind of like the Jets-Chicago game.
October 18, 2026
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