{"id":371032,"date":"2025-12-27T00:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T00:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/371032\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T00:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T00:13:09","slug":"patriots-take-on-jets-with-a-chance-to-win-the-afc-east-title-and-go-undefeated-on-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/371032\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots take on Jets with a chance to win the AFC East title and go undefeated on the road"},"content":{"rendered":"

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) \u2014 The mission for Drake Maye<\/a> and the New England Patriots<\/a> as they prepare for the final two games of the regular season is clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s as simple as go win the division,\u201d Maye said. \u201cThat\u2019s what the goal was. It wasn\u2019t to make the playoffs. It was to win the division, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to try to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Patriots (12-3) will get that chance Sunday when they face the New York Jets<\/a> (3-12) at MetLife Stadium. New England, which last week clinched its first postseason berth since 2021, can win the AFC East title for the first time since 2019 with a win and a loss or tie by Buffalo against Philadelphia, or a tie and a Bills loss.<\/p>\n

A victory over the Jets also would give the Patriots an 8-0 record on the road, which would mark the third time in franchise history they\u2019d have no losses away from home. Only San Francisco (1984, 1989 and 1990) has gone undefeated on the road in three seasons since 1970.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to focus on this week and going on the road to a great environment, going to New York City, play the Jets \u2014 and unfinished business,\u201d said coach Mike Vrabel, who has turned the franchise around in his first season. \u201cWe want to be undefeated on the road. … That\u2019s something that I think is special.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill want to play for the division. We want to win the division. Haven\u2019t done it in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bills have won the last five AFC East titles, ending the Patriots\u2019 long reign over the division under Bill Belichick.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s nothing, though, compared with the drought the Jets are dealing with. New York last won the division title in 2002. The Jets haven\u2019t made the playoffs since the 2010 season, the NFL\u2019s longest active skid.<\/p>\n

First-year coach Aaron Glenn has focused continuously on building a foundation, insisting through his team\u2019s struggles that things will change. Jets fans, however, have little patience \u2014 especially after seeing the Patriots go 4-13 the last two years, only to bounce right back and again be one of the league\u2019s top teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when you look at any team in that situation,\u201d Glenn said, \u201cyou try to look and see what they\u2019ve done, take a really good look at yourself and evaluate the things that you\u2019ve done, and try to move forward in that instance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offseason and draft positioning are what many fans are pondering, but the Jets are looking for victories in their final two games of the season against the Patriots and Bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing we\u2019re thinking about, more or less, is going out there and competing our (butt) off and winning the game,\u201d Glenn said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what\u2019s critical for us \u2014 ending this season on a good note against two really good opponents, two division opponents, at that. One at home and one away. Man, that\u2019s the only thing that we\u2019re thinking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

MVP Maye?<\/p>\n

Maye entered the week first in the NFL in completion percentage (70.9), third in passer rating (108.5) and fourth in yards passing (3,947). The second-year quarterback was selected for the Pro Bowl Games for the second time \u2014 and he\u2019s hearing MVP chatter from some fans and media.<\/p>\n

While Maye acknowledges the buzz around him, he insists he isn\u2019t letting it distract him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MVP is obviously one of the big accolades for this league and it\u2019s something that is an honor as a player to earn that award, and I respect all the past MVPs,\u201d Maye said. \u201dBut I think at the end of the day, winning the Super Bowl is the biggest thing. I think it\u2019s what kind of makes this league go is winning the big one. That\u2019s what you work toward, and that\u2019s what this game is about.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love winning, and the personal accolades come with all that, but I\u2019d rather win than win personal awards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still Cook-ing<\/p>\n

Jets undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook<\/a> will make his third straight start, getting extensive playing time in an unexpected opportunity.<\/p>\n

Cook spent most of the season on the practice squad, but injuries to Tyrod Taylor<\/a> and Justin Fields<\/a> have put the former Missouri star under center for New York. In three NFL games, including the last two starts, Cook has had a crash course in the pros. He has thrown for 527 yards and one TD with six INTs and a 59.2% completion percentage, but he also has been sacked 17 times.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m handling it,\u201d Cook said. \u201cI think, as a young quarterback, it\u2019s important to be critical of yourself. These are very important reps and moments and opportunities for me to review myself and really understand where I\u2019m at and where I need to improve. I think I would be doing a disservice to myself if I wasn\u2019t extremely critical of myself right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Road warrior<\/p>\n

Vrabel is the fourth coach in NFL history to win his first seven road games with a new team, and the first since Jim Caldwell did so with Indianapolis in 2009.<\/p>\n

A win Sunday would make it eight in a row for Vrabel, who would trail only George Seifert, who won his first 16 road games with San Francisco in 1989-90.<\/p>\n

Still searching<\/p>\n

The Jets set an NFL record last week by failing to get an interception in their 15th straight game.<\/p>\n

The drought broke a tie with San Francisco, which went 14 consecutive games without one before getting its first interception in Week 8 of this season. New York\u2019s last INT came in the season finale last season against Miami when Ashtyn Davis<\/a> picked off two passes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still haven\u2019t got an interception this year, which is kind of bizarre,\u201d interim defensive coordinator Chris Harris said. \u201cNever been a part of it, but we\u2019re still working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower in Boston contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NFL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NFL<\/p>\n

Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) \u2014 The mission for Drake Maye and the New England Patriots as they prepare…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-371032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}