A New York Jets victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday would be the team’s most important win in years. It would bring the Jets back to .500 before traveling home next Sunday to face the winless Miami Dolphins.

The challenge is that New England is the toughest opponent the Jets have faced so far. To come away with an upset victory in Foxborough, the team’s defense will need cohesion, particularly between the defensive line and secondary.

Jets’ pass-rush and coverage must be in lockstep

Before the Jets’ Week 5 win over the Cleveland Browns, there was an infuriating disconnect in Gang Green’s defense. Their coverage was among the best in football through four games, while the pass rush was at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Because of that, opposing quarterbacks were given opportunities to pick the coverage apart because they had so much time to throw. That changed for the Jets on Sunday, however, as the team logged a whopping eight sacks, after failing to pick one up the week before. The eight-sack outing was the most among any team in a game this season, and it was the biggest reason the Jets pulled away with a 17-12 win.

While it is comical to expect the Jets to repeat their eight-sack output, their pass rush will need to play at a high level for New York to pull away on Sunday.

Over the past two weeks, Drake Maye has been one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks. Despite a slow start to the year, he’s starting to prove exactly why he was the MVP runner-up in 2025.

From Weeks 4-5, Maye ranked fifth among starting quarterbacks in adjusted completion rate (82.0%), third in yards per attempt (9.1), and first in passing touchdowns (7). It’s safe to say that Maye is back to being a legitimate threat through the air.

Maye completely dismantled the Jets across two matchups last year, posting an 80.0% completion rate, 537 passing yards, six touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 143.7 passer rating.

The good news is that the Jets’ coverage has remained one of the league’s best. They currently rank second in Pro Football Focus’ coverage grade (76.5), trailing just the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks (77.9). Minkah Fitzpatrick and Dane Belton, both first-year Jets, have emerged as one of the best safety duos in the game this season.

However, pass-rush concerns remain. While an eight-sack performance last week calls for increased encouragement in the group, they still rank 30th in PFF’s pass-rushing grade (60.1). Even if the Jets’ coverage group does its job on Sunday, Maye can carve up New York’s defense if the pass rush isn’t getting home quickly enough.

New England’s top WR, A.J. Brown, is also expected to be activated off injured reserve to play tomorrow. He practiced this week after suffering an ankle injury in Week 1.

Maye has found all of his success over the past two weeks without his top target in the passing game. Now that Brown is back, the Jets’ job on defense has become even harder.

If the Jets let Maye consistently operate from a clean pocket, it won’t matter how well the secondary plays. No secondary can cover forever, and against an athletic quarterback like Maye, the Jets will be punished if they don’t force Maye to get the ball out.

In Week 5, one of the biggest reasons for their high sack and pressure totals was their willingness to blitz. Per Tru Media, the Jets posted a 52.3% blitz rate, which is a crazily high mark.

That approach worked against Deshaun Watson, but it comes with risks against a QB like Maye. Watson and Maye are two very different players, not only in terms of talent, but also in their strengths and weaknesses. Maye’s strengths lie in elite accuracy and arm talent, which allows him to make defenses pay for isolating DBs in one-on-one situations against his WRs.

So, the Jets should still blitz occasionally, but doing so at such a high clip could be risky against Maye. It’s worth noting that six of Maye’s league-high seven interceptions this season came on plays when he was not blitzed.

The Jets’ secondary has been one of the best in the league this season. The question is whether their defensive front can actually take advantage of that from game to game.

The answer to that question could be the difference between Gang Green leaving Gillette Stadium with a 3-3 record and falling to 2-4.