FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – Tom Brady and the New England Patriots needed three quarters to figure out the New York Jets.
Trailing by four midway through the fourth quarter, Brady led the Patriots on back-to-back touchdown drives and the defending Super Bowl champions remained unbeaten with a 30-23 victory Sunday over the Jets.
“The offense wasn’t clicking the whole time, which we need to be,” said tight end Rob Gronkowski, who had 108 yards on a career-high 11 catches. “But in the fourth quarter we just dig down, dig deep.”
The Jets, who had won two in a row, had hoped to tie the Patriots (6-0) for the AFC East lead and take control of a division that has been dominated by the four-time Super Bowl champs. But now they must wait for the Dec. 27 rematch in New York, when the Jets (4-2) will try to beat New England for just the second time in 11 regular-season tries.
“It’s week seven,” said Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who played in New England last year. “We knew what this game meant in terms of being on top in the division. But we’re fine. We’ve got a long season.”