4 Winners, 2 Losers in Patriots' Hard-Fought Win vs. Jets

It was far from pretty, but the New England Patriots won their third-consecutive game on Sunday in their 26-19 slugfest against the New York Jets.

While the Patriots ultimately took him the win in a one-possession game, the team had plenty of ups and downs throughout the way

Here are the biggest winners, and losers, from the Patriots' win over the Jets.

Winner: TE Hunter Henry

Henry has re-emerged as a top receiving threat for the Patriots' offense in recent weeks. The veteran has out-performed his best performance from the first three weeks of the season in each of the past three weeks.

On Sunday, the 31-year-old caught four of his five targets, plus tallied 48 yards and scored New England's final touchdown of the day.

"Yeah, it was fun," Henry said after the win. "It was cool to go out there and hit some adversity, bounce back, get some adversity and bounce back. It's hard to win in this league. Their defense was throwing a lot at us. We were able to respond, and our defense came up with some big stops there and some timely drops. It was a lot of fun."

Loser: WR A.J. Brown

In Brown's second game as a Patriot--and first since being activated from injured reserve--he struggled substantially. The former Philadelphia Eagle hauled in just three of his 10 targets and went for 27 yards. Mixed in were a handful of drops, plus a mishandled onside kick (which New England was fortunate to recover).

"I think he could've probably made a few more plays, come down with a few more plays," Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said. "He's been out for a while. I know that he wanted to do well for his football team, and unfortunately it wasn't his best effort. I know that he knows that, and we have all the confidence in the world in A.J. just to be able to finish those plays."

Winner: S Kevin Byard

Byard made his way to New England after a First-team All-Pro season in 2025. The veteran's performance on Sunday served as a reminder of why he deserved that nod.

One of the Patriots' defensive captains, Byard tallied seven total tackles and combined for a run stuff with Gabe Jacas in the team's win over the Jets. Plus, the 33-year-old flew across the field for a pass breakup which saved a potential touchdown.

"I think for us as a defense, we feel like we are a dominant defense and wanted to be able to put on a dominant performance," Byard said. "It just didn't feel like that. Now, obviously we're going to watch the film and find things to correct, which I'm sure there's a lot out there, but it's a lot of good too."

Winner: QB Drake Maye

For the first time of his career, Drake Maye has thrown three or more touchdown passes in three consecutive games. While the rest of the 24-year-old's final stat line may not jump off the page (18/32 passing, 235 yards), those numbers were also signifcantly deflated due to dropped passes.

Ultimately, New England's young quarterback has been back in MVP form the past three weeks.

"I think Drake Maye continues to stay very even-keeled," Vrabel said. "I think that he probably is much more mature than I probably think in my head, just being 24. But I think that he is very even-keeled."

Loser: RB TreVeyon Henderson

Credit where credit is due: there is no world where Henderson should have been healthy enough to play on Sunday. The 23-year-old suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Las Vegas Raiders last week, an injury that oftentimes lands players on injured reserve.

Henderson had just eight touches on Sunday, which went for 40 total yards. More important, however, was his fumble in the third quarter to set up New York inside of New England's 40-yard line. Fortunately for the Patriots, they held the Jets to just a field goal. However, a touchdown would have tied the game up for New York.

Winner: Depth

After the Patriots' 24-21 preseason win over the Eagles on Aug. 22, Vrabel gave a blunt assessment of his team's depth.

"I do not think we have a very deep team," he said. "So I think we have to make sure that we are preparing our football team and that we are doing everything that we can to keep our best players available"

Since then, New England has dealt with a plethora of injuries. A week ago, the Patriots had just three active cornerbacks against the Raiders. This Sunday, the team was down to its final offensive lineman after a slurry of players went down.

Yet, the back-end of the Patriots roster stepped up. New England did not allow a single sack to a New York squad which had been tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. Plus, between the three reserve linemen who saw action on Sunday (Caleb Lomu, Matt Pryor, Walter Rouse), none allowed a pressure.

"Just try to get the guys ready," Vrabel said when asked about his team's depth. "I think that that's something that we targeted. We knew that it was probably unique to add 10 players at the end of training camp that were new, and there was going to be some growing pains getting those guys ready...But then certainly I enjoy watching those guys go out and take advantage of their opportunity."

But New England's offensive lineman were far from the only ones who stepped up against New York.

The Patriots' third-string running back, Corey Kiner, played a substantial role in clinching the win. The 24-year-old had eight carries on New England's final full drive of the game, which took over six minutes off of the clock. The former Arizona Cardinal finished the afternoon with 11 carries for 57 yards, plus he took the second half's opening kickoff return 31 yards.

"It feels great," Kiner said about his performance. "To be in that position in the game, to see the smiles on my teammates' faces and my coaches' faces, that they can trust me. It felt great, all the hard work we have been putting in as a team and personally, it just feels great."

New England's depth contributions didn't solely come on the offensive side of the ball, however. Patriots backup cornerback Charles Woods also got in on the action, forcing Jets quarterback Geno Smith to throw his first interception of the season.

"It was a phenomenal play," Byard recalled. "He turned into a receiver basically."

While the Patriots' depth had plenty of struggles throughout the preseason, it has quickly turned into one of the strengths of this team.

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