EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Rex Ryan arrived as the head coach of the New York Jets in 2009 by declaring he was not intimidated by the New England Patriots or head coach Bill Belichick.
Ryan will likely depart the Jets next week feeling the same way the rest of the AFC East head coaching brethren has felt for most of the last 14 years: Closer than ever to dethroning the Patriots and farther away, all at the same time.
Running back Jonas Gray scored a one-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter Sunday and defensive lineman Vince Wilfork partially blocked a field goal with 5:21 left as the Patriots hung on to edge the Jets 17-16 at MetLife Stadium.
“Another game I thought we had a hell of a chance to win the game against New England,” Ryan said. “But that’s been the story four out of the last five times we’ve played them.”
It’s pretty much the story against everybody in the AFC East, which the Patriots have won in each of the last six years and 12 times in the last 14 seasons.
Of their 28 division wins since 2009, 10 have been by eight points or less. The Patriots have beaten the Jets by three points or less four times since 2012, including in the first meeting of this season on Oct. 16, when Jets kicker Nick Folk’s 56-yard field goal was blocked as time expired in New England’s 27-25 victory.
“I just wish we’d play better for 60 minutes — we just haven’t figured out a way to play against these guys as well as we possibly can,” said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who was 23-of-35 for 182 yards and a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski. “Sometimes you’ve got to grind them out. Tough to win games in the NFL, certainly on the road against a division opponent.”
With the win, the Patriots (12-3) clinched a first-round bye for the fifth straight season. New England can clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC by beating the Buffalo Bills next week.
The Jets, meanwhile, fell to 3-12 in what is expected to be the home finale for Ryan, who will likely be fired following the season finale against the Miami Dolphins.
But it looked for much of Sunday as if Ryan might get to enjoy one last win over the Patriots. The Jets sacked Brady four times in the first half and took a 10-7 lead into the locker room.
As has been the case all season, though, the Jets ended up being done in by their sputtering offense. The Jets settled for a field goal on their first drive of the second half, which stalled at the Patriots’ 11-yard-line.
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski booted a 24-yard field goal to pull the Patriots within 13-10. Two plays later, linebacker Jamie Collins picked off Jets quarterback Geno Smith to set up Gray’s go-ahead touchdown run.
The Jets had multiple chances to take the lead later in the fourth, but Smith was sacked for a loss of nine yards on second-and-eight from the Patriots’ 10-yard-line with 8:48 left. Folk kicked a 37-yard field goal two plays later.
On the Jets’ next possession, Smith was sacked for a 10-yard loss on third down from the Patriots’ 24-yard-line. Wilfork busted through the line on the next snap and got a piece of Folk’s field goal attempt.
“We knew they were going to fight like hell and we got everything — they threw everything they could at us,” Wilfork said. “It came down to one play to win the ballgame and that one play happened to be a block.”
The Patriots burned off the remaining 5:16. Brady’s seven-yard pass to wide receiver Danny Amendola (eight catches for 63 yards) gave the Patriots their first first-down of the drive and running back Brandon Bolden clinched the win by gaining 17 yards on 3rd-and-1 with 1:55 left.
“Lot of key plays at the end that players came through on, just one right after the other,” Belichick said. “From the turnover to the touchdown to the sack, blocked field goal (and) running out the clock.”
Smith finished 17-of-27 for 210 yards and one touchdown — a 20-yard strike to tight end Jeff Cumberland.
NOTES: Jets LB David Harris recorded the 1,000th tackle of his career when he and LB Calvin Pace teamed up to sack Patriots QB Tom Brady on New England’s first drive. Harris is the fourth player to record 1,000 tackles with the Jets. … Jets C Nick Mangold suffered an ankle injury and was carted off the field with 8:54 left in the second quarter. X-rays revealed no break. He has missed just two games since being drafted by the Jets in 2006. … The Jets also lost WR Percy Harvin to a rib injury in the third quarter. … Despite being listed as questionable on the injury report, Patriots CB Kyle Arrington (hamstring), RB LeGarrette Blount (shoulder) and WR Julian Edelman (concussion) were all inactive. … Brady took as many sacks in the first half as he did in the Patriots’ previous seven games combined.