Patriots Beat Jets at Buzzer

The most basic of tenets still seem to apply to life in the AFC East for the Patriots, at least against one of their divisional foes.

The Jets are still, very much, the Jets. In search of its first win of the 2020 season, Gang Green held a 10-point fourth quarter lead over New England before it came unraveling to the tune of a turnover, penalties and poor clock management.

Fittingly enough, it was Nick Folk, the former Jet, whose 51-yard field goal as time expired that ultimately did New York in, giving the Patriots a 30-27 win over the Jets Monday night.

New England is now 3-5, two games out of a playoff spot in a crowded AFC playoff picture. The Patriots are 3.5 games behind the Bills for first place in the division.

"Nick did a great job," Bill Belichick said. "He's a tough kid. He came through for us in a big way."

New England scored on all four of its second half possessions, with two touchdowns and two field goals. Trailing 20-10 at the break, the Patriots had a 13-play, 78-yard scoring drive capped off by a 1-yard Rex Burkhead touchdown run.

The Jets responded with a Joe Flacco 15-yard touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman with 0:30 to go in the third to move ahead 27-17, an edge it would carry into the fourth quarter.

But New York ran only four offensive plays in the final frame. After Folk kicked a 29-yard field goal -- points which the Patriots earned after the Jets lined up with too many men on Folk's field goal attempt four snaps earlier -- Flacco threw an interception on New York's first play back on offense.

Cam Newton, who didn't turn the ball over for the first time since his New England debut, engineered another scoring lengthy scoring drive, this time culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run for Newton -- his second of the game -- pulling the Patriots even at 27-all with 1:57 to go in regulation.

The Jets promptly went three-and-out, giving the ball back to New England with 0:47 on the clock at its own 22-yard line. Newton did just enough to get the Patriots into field goal range, where Folk connected on his first go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter from over 50 yards since 2011.

Newton finished the game 27 of 35 for 274 yards, good enough for a 99 passer rating.

"Cam did a good job, he hung in there," Belichick said.

Jakobi Meyers, celebrating his 24th birthday, caught a career-high 12 passes for 169 yards for the Patriots, also the top mark of his career. Damiere Byrd had five catches for 65 yards.

Damien Harris (14 carries, 71 yards) and Burkhead (12 carries, 56 yards) paced the Patriots on the ground.

It was the first "walk-off" win for the Patriots since the 2018 AFC Championship game, which they won on the road in Kansas City, 37-31, on a Rex Burkhead touchdown run in overtime.

The Patriots host the Ravens this Sunday at Gillette Stadium.