FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A week after the Jets sacked Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson eight times, they were unable to come up with any against New England quarterback Drake Maye in a 26-19 loss Sunday.
“It’s tough to explain, to be honest with you,’’ Jets coach Aaron Glenn said after the shutout on defense. “I have all the confidence in the world in our front and being able to cause havoc.”
It didn’t happen Sunday — and that’s even with the Patriots losing three offensive linemen to injuries during the game, as Morgan Moses, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Ben Brown all were unable to finish the game.
David Bailey, who had three sacks versus the Browns, forced a fumble in the loss but was unable to get Maye to the ground, like the rest of his teammates.
Bailey, like Glenn, credited New England’s chipping ability, especially once they were short-handed.
And Demario Davis said Maye’s skill set made it difficult to finish the job. “Maye is a very savvy quarterback,’’ he said. “We knew that going in.”
Glenn was impressed by Maye’s ability stay up even when the Jets appeared to have him in their grasp. “We’ve got to do a better job,’’ he said.
The Patriots also used a strong running game to keep the pressure off Maye, who was able to elude defenders and break away when needed.
“He does a good job getting rid of the ball,’’ Davis said. “They were able to stay in favorable situations where he didn’t have to hold the ball long. He did a good job extending plays and keeping his eyes down the field … They’re very well-coached. That’s why they were where they were last year.”
At the half, Braelon Allen had 12 carries for 65 yards and a pair of receptions for 26 more yards.
But the back was barely visible in the second half, getting just five rushes for 13 yards — and no catches — as the Jets got away from the running game.
“He was popping runs,’’ Glenn said of the early part of the game. “That’s got to continue, but down 10 [points], you have to make sure you get back in the game. We were very aware of how he was running the ball, but it was time to get the ball down the field.”
Glenn lamented the work of the special teams — outside of Jason Sanders, who made all four of his field goal attempts, the longest one 42 yards.
The Jets didn’t get much from their return game and allowed two good returns by Corey Kiner — including after a Sanders field goal cut it to 23-16 with 7:20 to go.
LB Kiko Mauigoa left with a thigh injury and didn’t return.
