Perhaps it wasn't the walkover some had envisioned, but the New England Patriots had a fairly stress-free Thursday evening while dispatching the AFC East-rival New York Jets 27-14.
Uneventful as the night mostly was on the field, it could have ramifications that extend well into the season − and beyond − for both teams, several clubs beyond the bounds of Foxborough and maybe even some players ... including, perhaps, some beyond the bounds of Foxborough.
So while the Patriots were the big winners on the "Thursday Night Football" scoreboard, we all know there are more to find in the margins of a given game − and here they are:
The win pushed New England to the very top of the AFC standings − for now. The Patriots haven't won the AFC East since 2019, nor been a No. 1 seed since the 2017 campaign. A lot of games yet to play before they begin approaching the caliber of the Brady-Belichick teams, but this season under first-year coach Mike Vrabel has provided quite a turnaround ... for fans who have been brutally starved for, like, a half-decade.
New England's second-year quarterback continued to burnish his MVP credentials with a nearly flawless night, though he didn't have to be much more than efficient against the Jets − 25-of-34 for 281 yards and a TD, his gaudy completion percentage for the 2025 season up to 71.9%.
