Patriots’ Drake Maye, Trevellon Henderson dominate New York Jets
Patriots fans enjoyed a show Thursday night with standout performances from Drake Maye, TreVeyon Henderson, and Stefon Diggs.
- The New York Jets lost to the New England Patriots 27-14, dropping their season record to 2-8.
- Quarterback Justin Fields struggled in the passing game, finishing with 116 yards through the air.
- Fields was more effective as a runner, gaining 67 yards on the ground with one touchdown.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New York Jets made their intentions clear for the second half of the 2025 season at the trade deadline by moving away from the cornerstone of their defense and stocking up on draft picks for the future. These two blockbuster signings were definitely positive moves by first-year general manager Darren Mousey for a team that sank two to eight days later in a 27-14 loss to the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football.
Victories come at a price, including New York’s win over the fellow last-place Cleveland Browns on Nov. 9. Price is a valuable draft position.
That’s why hiring Justin Fields as quarterback is the smartest decision a tanking team can make in the modern NFL.
Yes, that’s a harsh criticism of Fields. However, one of the main job duties of a “quarterback” is to throw the ball. Fields is barely up to the task in the Jets’ offense at this point.
Fields completed 15 of 26 passes for 116 yards. He also rushed 11 times for 67 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown on the opening series of a game that lasted 8 minutes and 4 seconds. The impulse resembled the product of a professional attack.
What about the remaining games? There aren’t that many.
“Listen, there were some good things, some really good things,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “I thought he could get the ball out. I’m sure we have some guys that can make plays for him as well. I know he would say he could actually do more.”
“I thought he pitched really well. We just have to finish it.”
At halftime, Fields had more rushing yards (28) than passing yards (23). 41 of his passing yards (almost a third of the total) ended in garbage time. He has fewer than 54 yards in four of his nine starts this season. Explosions through the air for quarterback Fields are as rare as the Jets’ playoff appearances, with the franchise’s postseason drought now approaching 15 seasons.
Fields’ effectiveness as a runner makes this offense a challenge for the coaching staff. Because, as Glenn said, they “don’t want to make it a habit for our quarterback to just keep running because that could put our quarterback at risk.”
“Justin ran the ball quite a bit,” Glenn said. “The problem is, we can’t put Justin in a running back situation, and I think we all know that, because we would be putting him at risk.
“He did a good job with some runs. We just have to be calculated when we do those things.”
Anyway, Fields plays the role of a good and loyal soldier.
“Whatever I have to do to make this team as successful as possible and reach its fullest potential, I’m going to do it,” Fields said. “So if that’s me running the ball, that’s what it is.”
New AD Mitchell (a wideout who arrived in the trade that sent Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts) and Fields didn’t see eye-to-eye in the second quarter. With one-third left, Mitchell beat Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez with a double move to the left sideline and took a step away. Fields made a nice throw to his back shoulder on the stride, but Mitchell couldn’t catch the pass.
On another drive, Fields got Mitchell wide open on an outbreak route to the right. Due to a poor throw, Mitchell had little chance to play.
“You just have to roll with it and deal with it,” Fields said of the rookies he throws to (newly acquired receiver John Metchie had the longest catch of 22 yards and three total catches for 45 yards). “You can’t ignore your situation. You just have to go out and play.”
To be fair to Fields, the deck is stacked against him. It’s not Fields’ fault that the defense hasn’t recorded an interception all season (and had just one turnover). Before the game, the Jets placed receiver Garrett Wilson on injured reserve.
On Thursday, the injured acid appeared in the fourth quarter with the Jets trailing by 10 points. Fields fumbled the snap on the first play of the drive, trying to pick up the pork rind and run instead of just falling. It was a fateful endeavor. New England recovered after four plays and kicked a field goal.
The difficult thing for Fields’ teammates is that he looks like a stand-up guy. A week after Jets owner Woody Johnson raved about him to the world, he helped the team win its first game of the season. He shared a moment of true vulnerability in his post-game press conference, sending the message that not being okay is indeed okay. That’s powerful and important.
The sad reality is that most of the problems are not even on the gridiron.
Glenn has made it a ritual not to announce the starting quarterback if there is any conflict with the Big Apple media. Talking heads will continue to ask about Fields’ potential starting role as long as there’s another game.
But if Fields is in the conversation to be the starting pitcher anyway, losing is probably for the best.
