The Patriots had a chance.

They actually had plenty of them, and every time the New York Jets screwed up their cards, a new one came along.

So with 2:57 minutes left in the game, Jacoby Brissett got the ball with five rebounds and marched his team down the field.

He gained 14 yards on third-and-9 to keep the drive alive and soon found receiver Kayshon Boutte for 34 yards on third-and-10 to set up the first-and-goal.

With Rhamondre Stevenson’s 1-yard touchdown and two-point conversion catch, the Patriots were just 22 seconds away from ending their five-game losing streak and upsetting the Jets despite losing quarterback Drake Maye in the second quarter.

And New England did just that, securing a 25-22 win to improve to 2-6 while its division rival fell to 2-6.

This wasn’t a loss where the Jets played good football but ultimately ran out of time or missed the luck they needed.

The Jets’ fifth straight loss reflected a routinely sloppy day for a team whose desperation has been visible all year as the expected Super Bowl window with quarterback Aaron Rodgers rapidly shrinking.

The Jets’ offense couldn’t finish drives, their special teams allowed a 62-yard punt, they also missed a field goal and missed an extra point, and the defense did less to stop the Patriots’ offense than that Dropped passes by New England receivers did .

Five weeks after the Jets beat the Patriots 24-3, a New York team that had made three dramatic moves to improve its fortunes failed against a team that was not only rebuilding, but almost three Got without his starting quarterback for a quarter.

The Jets haven’t yet shown the spark of momentum they were hoping for after firing Robert Saleh, switching offensive players from Nathaniel Hackett to Todd Downing and trading receiver Davante Adams. They haven’t even seen the championship caliber they expected when they brought a four-time MVP quarterback into the building to finish his career.

Instead, a Jets team that had been vocal about its win-now intentions lost to a team that was clearly undergoing a rebuild.

The Jets’ late start and their performance were not enough

New York seemed poised for an ugly victory with a late start.

Rodgers hit Garrett Wilson for his fourth pass of 20 yards with 4:44 to play, and Breece Hall took the ball into the red zone with two runs. Rodgers then found Adams for 16 yards and set up rookie running back Braelon Allen for the 2-yard touchdown in the final three minutes of the game.

But the Jets opted for the two-point conversion.

The strategy was defensible because a 7-point lead would change the point calculation the Patriots would need to catch, let alone beat, the Jets. There was also a contextual defense: Kicker Greg Zuerlein had made just one of two extra point attempts and one of two field goal attempts in the latest installment of his multi-week slump.

So when the Jets received another delay-of-game penalty, they still tried the two-point attempt, even though it now had to go seven yards instead of two.

But they missed it.

And like the rest of their day, marked by penalties and mistakes, they missed the chance to beat a team with far less talent, investment and health.

The Patriots lost their quarterback and still beat the Jets

The Jets’ defense, which has a higher ceiling than its offense this season, struggled for the third straight game since team owner Woody Johnson fired Saleh.

Saleh had dictated plays for a defense that had ranked in the top four in each of the previous two years.

And as the Patriots watched one dropped pass after another hamper their game Sunday, Maye beat New York twice early.

The third-overall 2024 draft pick rushed for a 17-yard touchdown to get the Patriots on the scoreboard first and 18 yards to a keeper with 1:09 left in the first quarter.

But Maye suffered a helmet hit on the latter and ended the ride before entering the blue medical tent. A subsequent examination in the Patriots’ locker room revealed that Maye had suffered a concussion in this third professional start. Brissett came into play.

The injury likely reflected concerns about Maye playing at all this season, in a year in which the Patriots had neither the offensive line to protect him nor the player skills to develop a functioning offense. Maye was impressive in improving his passing and deep passes despite the circumstances. But ultimately, with the Jets’ defense limiting that, Maye resorted to tackles, including the one that knocked him out of the game.

Brissett finished the game completing 15 of 24 passes for 132 yards, in addition to 11 net yards on three carries.

Stevenson ran 20 times for 48 yards and two touchdowns.

For the Jets, Rodgers completed 17 of 28 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns.

Multiple deep passes to Wilson were the highlight of the day, with Wilson catching five of eight targets for 113 yards while Patriots top cornerback Christian Gonzalez turned his attention to Adams.

The Jets now find themselves at the bottom of the AFC East in a year where they should be contending for the title.