Jets vs Patriots week 6:Recap and week 16 matchup

NEXT GAME: New England Patriots @ New York Jets, NFL Week 16. Kickoff is 19:00 ET on Sunday 27 December at MetLife Stadium

The Result: Patriots 26, Jets 19

New England got the win the numbers expected, and close to the margin too. The Patriots beat the Jets 26-19 at Gillette Stadium, a one-score game settled by Drake Maye’s arm (NFL). Maye threw three touchdown passes, a 42-yarder to Romeo Doubs, a short score to DeMario Douglas and a seven-yarder to Hunter Henry, and although he gave one back on a fumble the Jets recovered, the exact loose-ball risk the preview flagged, New England’s offence carried too much. Geno Smith, who had not thrown an interception all season, finally did, picked off by Charles Woods, and the Jets could not keep pace.

42-yard touchdown from Maye to Doubs! NYJvsNE on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/tKpDzX136o

— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026

The win moves New England to 4-2 and drops the Jets to 2-4. It also landed almost exactly where the models had it: both Dimers and Stats Insider called Patriots 25-18, and it finished 26-19, a touchdown either way. The verdict on this page leaned New England by a score in a one-score game, and that is how it played out.

The two meet again in Week 16, this time at MetLife Stadium with the Jets hosting. We’ll build the rematch right here on this page when it comes round.

Where to watch the next Jets vs Patriots Game

Jets vs Patriots Week 6: What the Experts Said

PFT (Mike Florio), Week 6 Power Rankings
Florio has the Patriots up to 9th after the Raiders rout, nodding to their revival, and moves the Jets up to 26th with a one-liner on Geno Smith going from leading the league in interceptions to throwing none.
Source: NBC Sports / ProFootballTalk

NFL.com (Nick Shook), Week 6 Power Rankings
NFL.com’s Shook jumps the Patriots eight spots into the top 10 at 10th, crediting their 536-yard demolition of the Raiders, and lifts the Jets four places to 20th, singling out the eight-sack pass rush that smothered Cleveland.
Source: NFL.com

CBS Sports (Tyler Sullivan), Week 6 picks
Sullivan thinks “the Patriots are all the way back,” picks New England 30-17 and lays the 7.5 points, noting Maye’s MVP-form return and that the Jets are 0-6 against the spread in divisional games under Aaron Glenn.
Source: CBS Sports

Looking back, here’s the call I made beforehand

As a Raiders fan it pains me a little to say it, but I lean towards New England, probably by a touchdown or so. I’d expect it to be closer than most are suggesting, though.

The Jets have the league’s most careful quarterback and a pass rush that meets a patched-up Patriots line, and if there’s one thing that has troubled New England this year, it’s Maye giving the ball back.

Win the turnover battle and this could well be a one-score game; lose it and the Patriots may pull away. No tip here, just where the game seems to lean, and why.

Jets vs Patriots: The stats

Both teams through five games. Green is the better figure in each column. (Source throughout: Pro Football Reference; the team stats explainer walks through each one.)

Offense Stats Jets vs Patriots

Defense Stats: Jets Vs Patriots

Jets vs Patriots: Who could start?

Jets vs Patriots Injury Updates

The Patriots have had the busier week. New England have placed two starting offensive linemen, guards Mike Onwenu and Greg Van Roten, on injured reserve, along with safety Dell Pettus, punter Bryce Baringer and two others, which thins an interior line that now has to hold up against a Jets pass rush worth 3.4 sacks a game (Week 6 report; sacks via Pro Football Reference).

The Jets' report is lighter so far, with receiver Caullin Lacy questionable. The full game-status report, including running back Breece Hall, lands Friday, and I will update it then.

Jets vs Patriots: What people are saying

Four days out, the talk is louder about the two quarterbacks than the record.

• Is Drake Maye back? After a rough first month, his 374-yard, five-touchdown, no-turnover game against the Raiders has the comeback talk everywhere

Drake Maye today: 374 passing yards 29 rushing yards 4 passing touchdowns 1 rushing touchdown https://t.co/rJdG22PALB

— The Boston Dude (@TheCurrentTalk) October 11, 2026

• Respect for the Jets. New York radio is pushing back on the 2-3 record, Craig Carton calling them "a competent, good football team" (WFAN, @WFAN660 on X).

Craig says the Jets deserve respect as a "competent, good football team": @craigcartonlive https://t.co/BYtCGP4bMM

— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) October 13, 2026

• The Jets' pass rush is real. Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah singled out rookie edge David Bailey's breakout, which lands differently with the Patriots' line short-handed (Move the Sticks, @MovingTheSticks on X; Bailey has five sacks, per PFR).

"I know there's been a lot of discussion, 'Should they have taken Reese? Did they take the wrong guy?'... To me, I'm going to always value the edge rusher." The Jets nailed their David Bailey pick. Full breakdown of his breakout game against the Browns: https://t.co/vg6CVFIVCD https://t.co/w0AYaACe7I

— Move The Sticks Podcast (@MTSPodOmaha) October 13, 2026

• A Jets number worth knowing. They sit second in the NFL in third-down completion rate at 68%, behind only Minnesota (Warren Sharp, @SharpFootball on X).
• The bigger picture. Five weeks in, the AFC bracket has New England as the 5 seed and Buffalo the 4 (Adam Schefter, @AdamSchefter on X).

Five weeks in: https://t.co/KAhZ7tdjj3

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 13, 2026

According to Colin Cowherd, the Patriots are “the most underrated team in the league.” https://t.co/Q2AgccihpE

— The Boston Dude (@TheCurrentTalk) October 13, 2026

Jets vs Patriots: The Deeper Analysis

Originally Published 11th October 2026

I went into the numbers expecting the opposite story. The preseason consensus had Maye, the young star coming off a Super Bowl run, miles clear of a 36-year-old brought back to steady the Jets. Five weeks in, the careful veteran has kept his team in games, and the gifted kid spent a month giving the ball away before that Raiders afternoon. So this is a real matchup, not a mismatch.

Geno Smith is the Jets' quarterback, back with the club nearly a decade after his first spell there. Through five games he has completed 102 of 147 passes for 1,084 yards and six touchdowns, with zero interceptions (Pro Football Reference). An interception is a pass the defence catches, the worst thing a quarterback can do with the ball, and Geno has not done it once. Maye is the opposite kind of player right now: more dangerous on his day, far looser with the ball. He threw seven interceptions in his first four games and was pressured a career-high 21 times against Buffalo, then answered with a clean sheet against the Raiders: 374 yards, five touchdowns and no turnovers (Patriots.com).

2026 so far	Geno Smith (Jets)	Drake Maye (Patriots)
Age	36	24
Completions / attempts	122/ 177	117/183
Passing yards	1,336	1,463
Touchdowns	7	11
Interceptions	1	7
Passer rating	101.8	92.8

Both lines are five games (Jets, Patriots). Passer rating is the NFL’s 0–158.3 scale for passing efficiency; anything above 100 is a strong year.

Who to watch.

For the Jets, receiver Garrett Wilson is the one defenders plan around, and rookie edge David Bailey has become the pass rush's spark. For the Patriots, the danger is Maye finding Romeo Doubs and Hunter Henry, with Rhamondre Stevenson keeping the offence on schedule (PFR). The game tilts if the Jets' defence can get to Maye behind that reshuffled line and force one of his bad decisions.

The head-to-head

New England have owned this fixture lately. They lead the all-time series 77-56-1, having been AFC East rivals since 1960, and they swept both meetings last season, 27-14 and 42-10 (Jets–Patriots rivalry). The Jets' one bright memory is a big one: they knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs in January 2011, winning 28-21 at Foxborough (rivalry page). The full story sits on the rivalry page.

Jets vs Patriots FAQs

When did the Jets play the Patriots in Week 6, and who won?

They played on Sunday 18 October 2026 at Gillette Stadium. New England won 26-19 (NFL).

What was the final score of Jets vs Patriots?

New England Patriots 26, New York Jets 19 (NFL).

What are their records after Week 6?

The Patriots are 4-2 and the Jets are 2-4 (PFR: Patriots, Jets).

Who leads the all-time Jets–Patriots series?

New England, 77-56-1 counting the playoffs (rivalry page).

When do the Jets and Patriots play again?

In Week 16, on Sunday 27 December 2026 at MetLife Stadium, with the Jets hosting.