Morning Rewind, 10/26: Brady and the Patriots stay undefeated

By JOHN DORN

The New York Jets always seem to play the New England Patriots tough, even if the scoreboard has typically ended with the pats on top -- and even still despite New York's recent stretch of mediocrity. With the Jets one of the league's more pleasant surprises, entering Week 6 with only one loss, Sunday's matchup against the undefeated defending champs was, in many ways, the game of the week.

For about 59 minutes, it seemed like the Jets might actually escape Foxboro with a victory. The New York defense was stout, as it's been all year, allowing just a lone touchdown through the first three quarters. And despite a first-possession fumble by Ryan Fitzpatrick, the quarterback had been playing well enough to keep the Jets in it -- even well enough to have them up by four with minutes remaining.

But then came the patented Patriots comeback, as the Jets defense began to show fatigue. The Jets got the ball back after a Danny Amendola score, pushing the score to 23-20 in favor of New England with seven minutes remaining. But five plays later came a Jets fourth down, which resulted in an abysmal 33-yard punt by new signee Steve Weatherford.

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Then, with all three timeouts in his pocket, Todd Bowles neglected to stop the clock as the Pats charged downfield one final time, resulting in a wide-open touchdown to Rob Gronkowski. The Jets knocked in a token field goal and recovered an onside kick with seconds left, but resulting in nothing of note.

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Though they didn't end on the winning side, the Jets showed that they're good enough to hang with the division's top dog. There were crucial mistakes like Bowles' clock management and Brandon Marshall's dropped pass in the end zone. But their defense is for real, and if things break right, they'll win these types of games in the future.

But they lost, and New England one -- again -- to move to 6-0. And while we're still in the season's first half, a 14-2 finish seems like a worst-case scenario for the Pats.

Patriots 30, Jets 23


Around the League
Giants 27, Cowboys 20

Even while the Giants led the Cowboys at home, there was still the feeling that Weeks 1 and 2 were going to strikes again. You'll remember on both occasions, New York held a late lead, only to foil it away with paper mache defense. This time though, Matt Cassel was playing quarterback for the other team.

The Giants took control of the ball with the chance to ice it, and even while the offense couldn't do the job, the punt team forced a turnover to send Dallas home a loser. Also, Greg Hardy acted up on the sidelines and in the postgame -- unpredictably, of course.

Jaguars 34, Bills 31
In the NFL's first-ever experiment with an online-only broadcast -- from London, to boot -- the Wembley Arena fans almost witnessed a real stunner -- or, at least, as much as a Bill-Jags game could stun someone. After going ahead 27-3, the Jaguars let Buffalo go ahead 31-27 before an Allen Hurns touchdown to regain the lead in the final minutes.

Saints 27, Colts 21
In a battle between two of the NFL's biggest disappointments, Drew Brees' 255 passing yards on 44 attempts -- combined with Mark Ingram's 143 yards rushing -- were enough to top Indy on their home field. Andrew Luck tried to turn it on late, but to no avail, after getting shutout in the first half.

Dolphins 44, Texans 26
The Dan Campbell-led resurgence in Miami is still in full swing. At one point, Miami led Houston 41-0 in the first half. Lamar Miller ran for 175 yards in a half-game of action, while Jarvis Landry hauled in two touchdown grabs. More bad news for Houston: Arian Foster reportedly suffered a torn Achilles, which would end his season and potentially worse.

Panthers 27, Eagles 16
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In the late game, Philadelphia needed to win to cling to first place after a New York victory over Dallas, and they weren't able to pull through. Sam Bradford only strengthened Mark Sanchez's case to take over as the starting quarterback, going for just 205 yards on 46 attempts, posting a 21.7 QBR. Cam Newton and the Panthers remain undefeated, and with a weak schedule ahead, could remain that way for a few more weeks.


Other Scores

• Redskins 31, Buccaneers 30

• Falcons 10, Titans 7

• Vikings 28, Lions 19

• Chiefs 23, Steelers 13

• Rams 24, Browns 6

• Raiders 37, Chargers 29

More from AOL.com:
Panthers downplay 6-0 start after 27-16 win over Eagles
Cardinals look to bounce back against 1-5 Ravens
Chiefs turn back Steelers 23-13 to snap 5-game losing streak