FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It's rarely a good time to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium – particularly during a short week.
But Rex Ryan's New York Jets caught a break and nearly pulled the Thursday night upset by drawing Brady and a depleted cast of pass-catchers who look nothing close to last season's league-leading offense.
BOX SCORE: Patriots 13, Jets 10
Still, on a night when a second-half rain helped rookie quarterback Geno Smith and the AFC East rival Jets play their grinding pace, Brady found a way to weather the storm, pulling out a 13-10 win as New England improved to 2-0.
"The biggest thing with New England and the guys they're missing is they look vulnerable early,'' former Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Cowher told USA TODAY Sports.
With a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown, Smith forced a pass to Santonio Holmes that Aqib Talib intercepted at the New England 10-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Then, Smith threw a second pick – this time to Alfonzo Dennard at the Patriots 31 with 4:27 left. Smith's third interception of the night, again to Talib, with 38 seconds remaining iced the Patriots' win.
Brady, who started the game hitting rookie Aaron Dobson for a 39-yard touchdown strike to complete the opening drive, had receivers running free much of Thursday night.
But instead of lighting up the scoreboard, Brady managed just that one touchdown as Stephen Gostkowski chipped in a pair of field goals.
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