EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ What looked like the upset of the year turned into business as usual.
The Jets, a nine-point home underdog to the Patriots, took an early 14-point lead only to watch Tom Brady lead an efficient offensive attack to 24 unanswered points to take the game over.
Sunday's AFC East clash ended with the Patriots holding on for a 24-17 victory at MetLife Stadium to take sole possession of first place in the division.
The Jets didn't just give up after the Patriots took a 24-14 lead, but they were stymied by a controversial call by the officials that wiped out a touchdown.
Trailing by 10 midway through the fourth quarter, Jets tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins caught what appeared to be a 4-yard touchdown pass from Josh McCown. But after a replay review, the play was overturned as the officials ruled Seferian-Jenkins fumbled the ball out of bounds as he hit the pylon and it was ruled a touchback. Seferian-Jenkins lost control of the ball for a split second but seemed to secure it before hitting the ground. A touchdown and conversion would have cut the Jets' deficit to three points with 8:24 to play.
The Patriots took over at their 25 still up by 10 points. As was the case most the day, the Jets contained Brady. They got the ball back and cut New England's lead to 24-17 on a 28-yard field goal by Chandler Catanzaro with 3:40 left.
The Jets forced another New England punt and had a chance to tie the game, but McCown's fourth-down pass fell incomplete with 12 seconds left.
After several weeks of getting off to bad starts, Jets offensive coordinator John Morton spiced up the start of practices this week. He wanted a game-like tempo to the practices and it seemed to work on the Jets' first drive.
McCown (31-for-47, 354 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) completed a 13- play, 88-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Seferian-Jenkins with 9:08 to play in the first quarter. The Jets extended the lead when McCown connected with Jeremy Kerley for a 31-yard score with 12:18 left in the first half. The biggest play of the seven-play drive was Jermaine Kearse's sliding 16-yard catch on third-and-5.
The Jets offense disappeared after that. On the next five possessions, they punted three times, turned the ball over on an McCown interception and took a knee. The Jets gained just 40 yards in the half after taking a 14-0 lead.
The Patriots tied the game by halftime on a 1-yard touchdown run by Dion Lewis and Brady's 2-yard strike to Rob Gronkowski, who beat rookie safety Jamal Adams.
They took a lead they would not relinquish on their first drive of the second half. Brady (20-for-38, 257 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) completed an eight-play, 75-yard drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski for a 21-14 lead.
