3 Patriots to blame after getting inexcusably embarrassed by Jets

The New England Patriots got off to a promising start this season, shocking the NFL world by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals on the road and even taking a tough Seattle Seahawks team to overtime in Week 2. They hoped to maintain their momentum in Week 3 against the New York Jets, but it was evident from the jump that this was a mismatch.

Aaron Rodgers looked like the Aaron Rodgers of old in his first appearance at MetLife Stadium since last season's brutal season-ending injury, spreading the ball to eight different Jets receivers and throwing for two touchdowns in a 24-3 win.

What was even worse than New England's defense getting picked apart all night was their offense generating next to nothing against a Jets defense without both Haason Reddick and Jermaine Johnson. New England is now 1-2 on the season, and with a matchup on the road against the San Francisco 49ers coming up next, their season could be slipping away faster than they could've expected after their impressive start.

The entire team deserves some blame for a truly inexplicable performance against the Jets, but some deserve even more blame than others.

3 Patriots to blame for inexcusable loss to Jets

3) Rhamondre Stevenson was unable to generate anything all night

To be completely blunt, Rhamondre Stevenson's underwhelming night was not all his fault. Part of being a successful running back requires an offensive line to be somewhat competent, and the Patriots never stood a chance in the trenches against this Jets defense. Still, Stevenson had to be better than he was.

With the team trailing much of the game his number was only called on the ground six times, but all he could manage was 23 yards. Even backup Antonio Gibson had 29 yards on five carries, being more efficient with fewer opportunities. To make matters worse, the Patriots started a drive on their own 35 with somewhat of a chance to potentially get some more points on the board in the fourth quarter, but his fumble gave the Jets the football right back.

New York would take the good field positioning Stevenson gave them and eventually kick a field goal, matching New England's scoring output for the entire game. The fumble didn't impact the final score much, but the Patriots could have, at the very least, generated some momentum, but he took that away from them by letting the ball hit the ground.

2) Jacoby Brissett continued to prove he should not be starting for the Patriots

The Patriots chose to name veteran Jacoby Brissett the team's starter at the quarterback position over Drake Maye, the player New England had just taken with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft and had impressed in the preseason. The results since that decision have been far from stellar.

Sure, New England pulled off the upset in Cincinnati, but Brissett completed 15 of his 24 throws for 121 yards and didn't throw a single passing touchdown. The Patriots managed to score just 16 points. They forced overtime against the Seahawks, but Brissett completed 15 of his 27 passing attempts for 149 yards and one touchdown. The team scored 20 points, which is somewhat decent, but not enough to win most games.

The Patriots were competitive, but their defense was the reason why. They were staying in games in spite of Brissett. They were unable to do that against the Jets.

On Thursday, the 31-year-old completed 12 of his 18 passes for 98 yards. The Patriots generated next to nothing all night. Sure, the offensive line was horrific, but even on the occasions when Brissett had time to throw, he was missing open receivers.

It had gotten so bad to the point where Maye received some reps during garbage time, to the delight of some Pats fans. Whether Maye will start in Week 4 remains to be seen, but Brissett's job security is on thin ice, at the very least.

1) The Patriots entire offensive line deserves blame for Thursday's putrid performance

This game was won in the trenches by the Jets, and the final score shows just how lopsided it was. The Patriots' offensive line did not stand a chance against this ferocious Jets defense, even with them being short-handed.

The offensive line was an issue in the preseason, and looked as bad as it had ever looked on Thursday night. The Jets recorded seven sacks and 15 quarterback hits. Just unacceptable stuff.

Brissett was brutal, there's no disputing that, but would anyone have really succeeded under these conditions? If Brissett didn't get rid of the ball immediately after it was snapped, he was either going to get hit hard as he threw or sacked. It was that bad.

The Patriots having as bad of an offensive line as they do is presumably why Maye hadn't appeared in an NFL game until the end of this contest, and if things don't improve, it'll be hard to believe that their future franchise quarterback will have a chance to stay upright.

Even in the short amount of time Maye was in the game he took a pair of sacks and looked like he was rushing throws to avoid the swarming Jets defense. Maye never stood much of a chance, and that was because of the offensive line.

The Patriots team has a lot of issues, but none are more glaring than the offensive line. That was always apparent, but what we saw on Thursday was appalling.