New England Patriots vs. New York Jets: Box score, stats and summary feat. Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers finally got a chance to play more than four snaps at home as the New York Jets took on the New England Patriots. Both teams came into the game with a 1-1 record. But the mood for each franchise was palpably different.
The Jets believe that they can reach the playoffs this year and last week's win against the Tennessee Titans gave them the confidence to aim for it. Meanwhile, the Patriots came crashing back down to earth after their first-week upset against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here is how the action went down.
Patriots vs. Jets box scores
Patriots Box Score
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Defense
Kicking
Jets Box Score
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Defense
Kicking
Patriots vs. Jets game summary
This game saw the return of Aaron Rodgers to the stadium where he tore his Achilles more than a year ago and fans saw him turn the clock back to a time even before that. The quarterback was exceptional as he led the offense to a score in each of the four quarters.
In the first quarter, he threw a touchdown pass to Allen Lazard to take them to a 7-0 lead. The defense, meanwhile, did its job to keep the Patriots scoreless. The second quarter was similar to the first as Aaron Rodgers led another touchdown drive for Breece Hall to convert on a short running play. At least New England scored a field goal to keep the score 14-3 at halftime.
It could have been worse for the Patriots towards the end of the half as the Jets quarterback led a drive to bring his team into field goal range. But kicker Greg Zuerlein missed to keep New York's lead at 11.
Things did not get any better for Jerod Mayo in the second half as Aaron Rodgers continued to play well and found Garrett Wilson for a touchdown in the third quarter. That put them up ahead by 21-3.
With the game nearly won, the fourth quarter saw the Jets run the ball more and play safe. As the Patriots failed in every way to get going on offense, this strategy turned out to be risk-free. Eventually, New York got another field goal attempt, which they converted to make the final score 24-3.
This game also saw the pro football debut of rookie first-rounder Drake Maye, but he struggled behind an offensive line that had previously failed to protect veteran Jacoby Brissett. For the other seasoned quarterback on the opposing team, it was as good a night as he has ever had in a Jets jersey.