Drake Maye threw touchdown passes to Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas and Hunter Henry, and the New England Patriots closed it out with a 6:08 field-goal drive to beat the New York Jets 26-19 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, October 18.
A third consecutive win moves New England to 4-2, 3-0 at home and 2-0 in the AFC East. The Jets drop to 2-4.
How it unfolded
New York opened with a 13-play, 48-yard march that used 6:43 and ended in Jason Sanders’ 42-yard field goal. The Patriots needed two snaps to reply, Maye finding Doubs for a 42-yard touchdown at 4:10 of the first quarter. Doubs later left with a shoulder injury and did not return.
Andy Borregales made a 32-yarder with 1:46 left in the half, and New England went 71 yards in seven plays on its next possession. Maye threw 9 yards to Douglas with 14 seconds left, and the Patriots took a 17-3 lead to the locker room.
TOUCHDOWN POP‼️@DrakeMaye2 | @popshotta3
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— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 18, 2026
The Jets were back in it quickly after the break. Geno Smith hit rookie Omar Cooper Jr. for a 48-yard touchdown at 10:24 of the third quarter, and Sanders added a 36-yarder at 4:46 to make it 17-13.
Maye rebuilt the margin with a 12-play, 68-yard drive that ended on a 7-yard throw to Henry at 14:10 of the fourth quarter. Borregales missed the extra point, so it stood at 23-13, and Sanders’ 40-yard kick at 7:20 made it a one-score game again.
The drive that decided it
New England answered by keeping the ball for 13 plays and 51 yards, leaning on backup running back Corey Kiner, who finished with 57 yards on 11 carries. Borregales’ 27-yard field goal with 1:12 left made it 26-16. Sanders hit his fourth field goal, from 36 yards, with 32 seconds remaining, but the onside kick that followed bounced off A.J. Brown’s hands and Brown recovered it, ending the Jets’ hopes.
The numbers
Maye went 18 of 32 for 235 yards and three touchdowns, did not turn the ball over and was not sacked. Douglas caught seven passes for 86 yards, Henry four for 48, and Rhamondre Stevenson ran 14 times for 36 yards. New England outgained New York 383-324 but gave the ball away on fumbles by TreVeyon Henderson and Douglas; Charles Woods made up for one of them with an interception of Smith.
Smith completed 20 of 30 for 252 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and the Patriots sacked him three times. Cooper led the Jets with six receptions for 103 yards, Garrett Wilson had four for 44, and Braelon Allen carried 17 times for 78 yards. Sanders went 4 for 4 on field goals.
Brown, playing for the first time since Week 1 after a high ankle sprain, caught three of 10 targets for 27 yards and had several drops. “There’s no excuses,” he said. Maye said he would keep throwing to him, and coach Mike Vrabel kept the focus on the result: “We’re never going to not appreciate winning in this league.”
The win came at a cost up front. Three offensive linemen, Morgan Moses (ankle), Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) and Ben Brown (knee), all left, along with Doubs and edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones. The full injury picture is here.
What comes next
The Patriots turn around in four days to visit the Chicago Bears on Thursday, October 22, at 8:15 p.m. ET. The Jets host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, October 25, at 1 p.m. ET.
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