Drake Maye's run at NFL history and other Patriots-Jets Week 8 news and notes
FOXBORO -- The Patriots have lost six straight and will host the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium in Week 8. Good news for the Pats, right?
Not quite. Sure, the Jets are just 2-5 and are a pretty big mess themselves. They haven't won a game since beating the Patriots, 24-3, in New Jersey in Week 3.
But they at least have a few things going for them heading into this weekend's matchup. Aaron Rodgers is banged up and seemingly focused more on his thesaurus than playbook, but he's now got Davante Adams in his arsenal. On defense, the Jets should have star pass-rusher Haason Reddick in the lineup on Sunday after he ended his holdout.
The Jets have also won two straight against the Patriots. Dark times indeed in Foxboro.
It doesn't help that Jerod Mayo called his team "soft" after last week's embarrassing loss to the Jaguars in London. He later tried to clarify that he meant the team is "playing soft" upon his return stateside, but the toothpaste was already out of the tube at that point. While Mayo says the team is "on to the Jets," the soft talk is all anyone is focused on this week.
But there is one big difference for the Patriots heading into this weekend's matchup and the Week 3 loss: Drake Maye is at quarterback.
Maye made a brief appearance at the end of that Week 3 loss, and guided the Patriots on their best drive of the game. Now he'll get a full game to make his stamp on this rivalry.
The 22-year-old will look to continue a historic run when he takes the field Sunday. With 276 passing yards and two touchdowns in New England's loss to the Jags last week, Maye joined Hall of Famer Dan Marino as the only two quarterbacks in NFL history with 500 passing yards and at least five touchdown passes in their first two starts since 1950.
Maye can make more history on Sunday, as he looks to become the first rookie quarterback with at least 240 passing yards and at least two touchdown passes over their first three career starts. While the Patriots have been difficult to watch this season, Maye has at least provided a glimmer of hope for the future.
Here's everything else you need to know about Sunday's Patriots-Jets showdown in Foxboro.
Patriots-Jets
- The Patriots need to win (or tie) on Sunday to avoid their first season sweep at the hands of the Jets since the 2000 season.
- The Jets snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Patriots last season when they won, 17-3, at Gillette Stadium on the final weekend of the regular season. The Patriots had won 14 straight home games over the Jets heading into that game.
- The Patriots lead the overall series against the Jets 74-56-1. They are 38-25-1 in regular season home games in the series, and have an 18-4 record against their AFC East foe at Gillette Stadium.
- Those 74 overall victories over the Jets are the second-most over any single opponent, trailing New England's 78 wins over the Buffalo Bills.
- The Jets have the 23rd-ranked offense, averaging 307 yards per game. The Patriots rank 30th at just 262.9 yards per game.
- New England's 14.1 points-per-game is tied for 30th in the NFL, while the Jets are 24th at 18.3 points-per-game.
- The Jets have the 31st-ranked rush offense at just 82.4 yards per game.
- The New York defense ranks sixth in the NFL at 292.4 yards allowed per game. They own the second-best pass defense in the league, surrendering just 164.7 passing yards per game.
- The Patriots have been flagged for 44 penalties this season, but the Jets have been even more undisciplined. New York has been flagged 55 times through seven weeks, which is the fourth-most in the NFL so far.
Patriots-Jets connections
- Safety Jalen Mills is the only former Patriots player on the Jets roster this season, though tight end Anthony Firkser was in New England during training camp last year.
- New York wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson caught passes for the Patriots from 1996-99, while Chief of Staff Kevin Anderson was in New England's football ops. department from 2006-16.
- There are a pair of former Jets on New England's coaching staff: offensive assistant Michael McCarthy (who was a video/scouting intern for the Jets in 2008) and running backs coach Taylor Embree, who served the same role in New York from 2021-23.
Other Patriots-Jets Week 8 fun facts
- The Patriots are on their first six-game losing streak since the 1993 season, when the team lost seven straight between Weeks 7-14 under Bill Parcells. New England started that year 1-11 before winning four straight to end the season.
- Patriots receivers have just 589 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase leads the NFL with 620 receiving yards and six touchdowns through seven weeks.
- Only two teams that have played seven games this season have failed to break 100 points: The Patriots and the New York Giants. Both have scored just 99 points, while the Miami Dolphins have scored just 70 points over six games.
- Let's cycle back to Maye to end on a positive note. The rookie has thrown five touchdown passes in his first two starts (three vs. Houston and two vs. Jacksonville), which is already the most touchdown passes by any Patriots rookie over their first three starts. If Maye throws three touchdowns this weekend, he'll match Dan Marino (1983) and Marcus Mariota (2015), who both threw eight touchdowns passes over their first three starts -- the only quarterbacks to do so since 1950.
Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-Jets clash on WBZ-TV -- your flagship station of the New England Patriots. Coverage kicks off Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. (which you can also stream on CBSBoston.com), and switch to TV38 after the game for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
