Drake Maye’s 3 TD passes help Patriots stave off late push by Jets in 26-19 win

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes, New England overcame losing three offensive linemen and Charles Woods came up with Geno Smith’s first interception of the season in the fourth quarter to help the Patriots hold on for a 26-19 win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Maye completed 18 of 32 passes for 235 yards in his third consecutive game with at least three TD passes.

Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas and Hunter Henry had touchdown catches for the Patriots (4-2), who have won three in a row. Douglas had a team-high seven catches for 86 yards.

A.J. Brown had three catches for 27 yards for the Patriots in his return from injured reserve, but his timing was off and had three drops on his 10 total targets.

New England won its fourth straight against the Jets and 19th in its last 21 meetings despite right tackle Morgan Moses (ankle), left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) and right guard Ben Brown (knee) leaving with injuries.

The Jets (2-4) had a chance to tie it in the third quarter, but the Patriots held them to a field goal. New York squandered another opportunity to cut the deficit to a field goal in the fourth quarter when Smith was picked off by Woods. It came on Smith’s 166th pass of the season, ending his longest opening stretch to a season without an interception.

Smith finished 20 of 30 for 252 yards a touchdown to rookie Omar Cooper Jr., who had six catches for 103 yards in his return from IR after missing four games with an ankle injury.

New England’s defense, which got a boost from cornerback Christian Gonzalez returning from a two-game absence with a shoulder injury, held New York to 0 for 3 in the red zone. The Jets were also 3 of 10 on third down and were stopped on fourth-down runs on consecutive possessions in the second quarter.

The Patriots led 17-3 at the half, courtesy of Doubs’ diving 42-yard touchdown catch and a 9-yard scoring grab by Douglas.

The Jets trimmed the gap to 17-10 in the third quarter after Cooper got behind Patriots safety Craig Woodson and caught a 42-yard TD from Smith.

That remained the score when Jets edge rusher David Bailey stripped TreVeyon Henderson of the ball and Jamien Sherwood recoverer at the New England 36. New York drove to 10, but Smith was sacked by Elijah Ponder, forcing the Jets to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Jason Sanders.

The Patriots responded on their next series, capping a 12-play, 658=yard drive with a 7-yard TD strike from Maye to Henry, but Andy Borregales missed the extra point.

Just four plays later and the Jets down 10, Smith overshot Kenyon Sadiq on a deep pass that was intercepted by Woods.

Injuries

Jets: LB Kiko Mauigoa left with a thigh injury in the first quarter.

Patriots: Doubs (shoulder) exited in the first quarter following his touchdown catch and didn’t return. … Moses favored his left ankle when he left early in the second quarter. … Vera-Tucker left in the second with a hamstring injury and was ruled out. … Brown had trouble putting weight on his left leg as he was helped off in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.

Up next

Jets: Host the Dolphins next Sunday.

Patriots: Visit the Bears on Thursday night.

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