'TNF' takeaways: Patriots' Drake Maye has another MVP-level performance

The MVP chants rang out again throughout Gillette Stadium on Thursday night as New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye put together another near-flawless performance in a 27-14 win over the New York Jets. The win clinched the Patriots' first winning season since 2021, and it already gives them more wins this season (nine) than they had in the previous two years combined (eight). 

Here are some key takeaways from their Thursday night win. 

The Drake Maye MVP season rolls on

This was not Maye's most dominant or impressive showing of the season, and it did not feature a ton of the eye-popping, jaw-dropping passes he has made in previous weeks. But he was efficient. He was precise. He was in command. He did almost everything right and played like the franchise quarterback he is rapidly becoming.

He completed 25-of-34 passes for 281 yards, a touchdown and zero interceptions.

He is now up to 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions for the season, and 15 touchdowns to only three interceptions during the Patriots' current eight-game winning streak. 

Patriots in position to cruise to AFC East title

There are a lot of factors in the Patriots' turnaround this season, and one of them has been the fact that their schedule has really fallen their way. They entered play on Thursday with the easiest schedule in the AFC (.373 strength of schedule) and second-easiest in all of football (ahead of only the Chicago Bears). They have mostly feasted on that to jump out to a game-and-a-half lead over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East.

The schedule is not really going to get much tougher the rest of the way. 

Their Week 15 game against Buffalo is currently their only opponent that has a winning record the rest of the way. The Baltimore Ravens could eventually get there, but the Patriots should be significant favorites in most of their remaining games. 

Jets offense still badly struggling

The good news for the Jets: They scored their first opening-drive touchdown of the season.

The bad news: That was by far the highlight and high-point of their game.

The Jets finished the game with only 245 total yards of offense, and only 116 passing from quarterback Justin Fields. It is the fifth time this season he has failed reach 120 yards passing in a game. While he was ineffective, he was not helped by drops and poor offensive line play, not to mention the absence of the team's top wide receiver, Garrett Wilson. 

Still no interceptions for Jets defense

Perhaps the most stunning statistic about the 2025 New York Jets is their defense has now played 10 games this season and has not recorded a single interception.

They had their chances on Thursday but dropped two of them.

Along with no interceptions, the defense has recorded just one takeaway all season. Given how bad the Jets offense is, their best chance to win games is to win the turnover battle and create short fields. Their inability to do that is a big reason why they are only 2-8 on the season.