Drake Maye Throws 3 TDs as Patriots Hold Off Jets

Romeo Doubs laid out for a diving 42-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, and Drake Maye kept control of the game from there. Maye threw three touchdown passes, Charles Woods picked off Geno Smith in the fourth quarter, and the New England Patriots held off the New York Jets 26-19 in Foxborough on Sunday.

New England is 4-2 with three straight wins and 2-0 in the AFC East. It is also the Patriots' fourth straight win over the Jets and 19th in their last 21 meetings. New York drops to 2-4.

Drake Maye Keeps Stacking Three-TD Games

Maye finished 18 of 32 for 235 yards. It was his third straight game with at least three touchdown passes, which puts him with Tom Brady (four times) and Butch Songin (1960) as the only Patriots quarterbacks to do it in three straight games within a season, per NFL Research. He was 6 of 10 for 87 yards and two scores on third down.

The touchdowns went to Doubs, to DeMario Douglas from 9 yards just before halftime for a 17-3 lead, and to Hunter Henry from 7 yards early in the fourth. Douglas led the team with seven catches for 86 yards, and he is the Patriots pass catcher to circle in fantasy this week.

Maye did it while his line kept shrinking. Right tackle Morgan Moses (ankle), left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) and right guard Ben Brown (knee) all left with injuries, and Doubs exited with a shoulder injury after his touchdown and did not return.

"It was sloppy. It wasn't clean," Maye said afterward.

Jets Leave Points Everywhere

New York had its chances. The Jets were stopped on fourth-down runs on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, went 0 for 3 in the red zone and finished 3 of 10 on third down. Rookie Omar Cooper Jr., back from injured reserve, caught a long touchdown from Smith in the third quarter and finished with six catches for 103 yards. David Bailey then stripped TreVeyon Henderson to set up a field goal that cut it to 17-13.

Henry's touchdown pushed it to 23-13 after Andy Borregales missed the extra point, and four plays later Woods intercepted a deep throw intended for Kenyon Sadiq. It was Smith's first pick of the season, on his 166th pass. Smith finished 20 of 30 for 252 yards, and Braelon Allen ran for 78 yards on 17 carries.

A.J. Brown's return from injured reserve was rough: three catches for 27 yards on a team-high 10 targets, with three drops. Christian Gonzalez was back at cornerback after missing two games with a shoulder injury.

Thursday Night at Soldier Field

There is no time to rest a battered line. New England visits Caleb Williams and the Bears on Thursday night, with both teams sitting at 4-2. Maye is rolling, and Chicago will find out quickly whether its defense can slow him down.