NEW YORK: Nick Folk booted a 51-yard field goal with no time remaining as the New England Patriots rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to record a 30-27 victory over the winless New York Jets on Monday night at East Rutherford, NJ Cam Newton rushed for two touchdowns and completed 27 of 35 passes for 274 yards as New England (3-5) snapped a four-game losing streak.
Folk kicked three field goals, Rex Burkhead rushed for a touchdown and Jakobi Meyers established career highs of 12 receptions for 169 yards. Newton's 20-yard pass to Meyers with three seconds left set up the winning kick. Joe Flacco passed for 262 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for the Jets (0-9), who have lost nine straight to the Patriots. New York is the lone winless NFL team this season.
Flacco threw two touchdowns passes to Breshad Perriman (five receptions, 101 yards) and one to Jamison Crowder. He completed 18 of 25 passes in his third start of the season and passed Hall of Famer Joe Montana for 20th place on the all-time yardage list. New York quarterback Sam Darnold (shoulder) missed the game after aggravating an injury he initially sustained on Oct 1. New England cornerback Stephon Gilmore (knee), the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, missed his second consecutive game.
The Patriots controlled the clock for 36:58 and held a 433-322 edge in total yards. New York ran just one offensive play in the first 13:03 of the fourth quarter to aid New England in rallying from a 10-point deficit. The Patriots pulled within 27-20 on Folk's 29-yard field goal with 6:04 remaining, and J.C. Jackson followed with his league-high fifth interception on New York's next offensive play. Newton guided the Patriots on an 11-play, 72-yard drive and scored on a 1-yard sneak to tie the score with 1:57 left.
The Jets scored more points (20) in the first half than they did in seven of their first eight full games. Flacco tossed two touchdown passes to help New York take a 10-point halftime lead. Sergio Castillo's 35-yard field goal capped New York's opening drive before Newton scored on a 5-yard run to give the Patriots a 7-3 advantage with 3:34 left in the opening quarter. The Jets moved back ahead when Flacco threw a 50-yard scoring pass to Perriman with 9:59 remaining in the half. The long play moved Flacco past Montana (40,551 passing yards). Flacco concluded the contest with 40,726.
Castillo kicked a 50-yarder to give New York a 13-7 lead with 4:33 left before Folk knocked a 45-yard through the uprights for New England with 1:03 left. But Flacco finished the half with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Crowder with 25 seconds left. The Patriots opened the third quarter with an impressive 13-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Burkhead scoring from the 1 with 7:27 left. But the Jets responded with an 11-play, 75-yard excursion that culminated in Flacco's 15-yard scoring pass to Perriman with 30 seconds remaining in the third period. - Reuters