It could have been worse. But it was still pretty bad.
That’s the primary takeaway from the Jets’ 27-15 loss to the Patriots on Thursday night dropped them to 2-8. No one outside of the Jets building expected them to win, and few people even expected them to stay in this game.
But the Jets gave themselves a chance for much of the game, before New England took a double digit lead for good in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got to be better,” coach Aaron Glenn said after the loss. “Across the board.”
And he’s right. Hanging with the Patriots (8-2) is a only small victory less than two weeks after they traded franchise cornerstones Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, putting the focus on the future over 2025.
And even more if you consider what we saw Thursday night, because the thing is the road ahead doesn’t look like it will be easy, because the Patriots are once again atop the AFC East and starting to look every bit as formidable as any of the other contenders in this NFL season.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is the real deal. Now midway through year two he’s already led the Patriots to more wins this season (nine) than they had in the previous two seasons combined (eight). Maye diced up the Jets from the get-go on this night, completing his first 11 passes on the way 25 of 34 completions for 285 yards and a touchdown.
Maye has been so good that as the game ended on Thursday night, “MVP” chants echoed from the stands of Gillette Stadium, where they know a little something about quality quarterback play. And the thing is, there’s already an argument that Maye is the best quarterback in the division, as he brings some of the running ability that Bills quarterback Josh Allen has along with far superior touch and accuracy throwing the football.
Let’s not forget, Allen is still likely only midway through his career so that leaves the Jets now facing two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL for years to come. So the Jets are betting on their future, with two first round picks in each of the next two NFL Drafts.
And they better not miss because it was already clear before Thursday night that the Patriots did not miss on Maye.
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