Jets Week 6 Report Card: Grades Are All Over the Place After Frustrating Loss to Patriots

New York came up short in a disappointing 26-19 loss to New England.

It's time to grade the Jets' performance on both sides of the ball after a disappointing loss to the rival Patriots on Sunday | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Even though the Jets seemed to get their season back on track with a 17-12 Week 5 win over the Browns, they quickly found themselves back in a familiar position after a frustrating 26-19 loss to the Patriots left them with plenty of blame to go around.

The loss continued Gang Green's struggles against AFC East opponents, with their record falling to 25-66 since 2011. An opening-drive field goal was the only lead the Jets held for the entire game as they continue to be plagued by poor coaching and an inability to sustain drives, which especially proved costly against divisional competition.

Now, at 2-4, the Jets are at a pivotal point in their schedule where the season could start to get away from them if they are unable to capitalize on a pair of home games against the Dolphins and Raiders.

Before we get too far ahead, let's hand out some grades for each unit ahead of a Week 7 home tilt against Miami.

Quarterbacks: C+

Overall, Smith played well by going 20-of-30 for 252 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He even had some deep strikes in the game, one of which was a 48-yard connection with rookie Omar Cooper Jr. in the third quarter (h/t NFL+), and he put together an efficient performance that kept the Jets afloat when they needed him most.

GENO SMITH FINDS OMAR COOPER JR. 🤯

This pass had just a 23.5% completion probability for the rookie's first career 6⃣, per @NextGenStats

NYJvsNE on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/xtEdVMShXr

— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) October 18, 2026

That said, Smith was sacked three times and struggled to help the Jets finish drives. Worst of all, he threw his first interception of the season with the Jets trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter and across midfield, which stalled any momentum New York had established at that point.

There were some bright spots from the veteran signal-caller, but the late turnover and his inconsistency in finishing drives proved costly.

Wide receivers: B

An encouraging injury update leading into the weekend regarding Cooper's status provided some optimism that the Jets would finally get some of their hobbled players back on the field. In his first game back after suffering a right ankle injury in the season opener, the rookie went off for six catches, 103 receiving yards and one touchdown, all while receiving a team-high seven targets.

Even though Cooper had just one catch in his lone NFL game up to this point, it was clear the Jets needed to treat him like the first-round pick that he is. Aside from Cooper's explosiveness, WR1 Garrett Wilson was rarely involved in the offense again, with just four catches for 44 yards, while Tim Patrick had one reception for 15 yards.

Cooper was phenomenal and elevated this grade by himself, but depth continues to be an issue for this group.

Tight ends: C

This unit was collectively better this time around than it was one week ago, but the TEs still left a lot to be desired going forward. Mason Taylor led the way with four catches for 33 yards on six targets. Aside from him, though, there was not much happening in the pass game as rookie Kenyon Sadiq caught just one of his three targets for 12 yards, while Jelani Woods had one catch for nine yards.

The TEs played well in situational football and contributed to the run blocking, but this was nowhere near what they are capable of. Sadiq is too athletic and versatile to not be a more frequent part of this offense, especially after the breakout performance he had in Week 3 and the rushing TD he scored in the opener. However, he has not been a factor since Taylor made his return from a thumb injury in Week 5, and that could be a problem for the rest of the season if he is not more involved in the game plan.

Running backs: A-

The Jets were without RB1 Breece Hall (right quad) once again, but that did not stop Braelon Allen from having another solid performance. The third-year back had 17 carries for 78 yards and two catches for 26 yards as he took advantage of a key matchup to at least give the Jets a shot at pulling off the upset.

Backup RB Braelon Allen had another strong performance in Breece Hall's absence on Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Allen was productive and gave the Jets a reliable option to turn to once again as they searched for a balanced attack offensively. It was also crucial that the Jets made Isaiah Davis a bigger part of the rushing attack with Hall sidelined, but he only had seven carries for 16 yards and was only able to muster an average of 2.3 yards per carry, which is not going to cut it with his current place on the depth chart.

Offensive line: C-

For the second week in a row, the O-line contributed to a solid run game in Hall's absence, opening up lanes for Allen to exploit and imposing its will against the Patriots up front. At the same time, the pass protection was abysmal, allowing Smith to get sacked three times and allowing the pressure that ultimately led to the costly interception late in the game.

Furthermore, the Jets were just 3-of-10 on third down and went a combined 0-of-5 on fourth down and in the red zone, a lot of which was attributed to the O-line's inability to hold its own against New England's pressure. The struggle to get any push on the fourth-down attempts, specifically, was hard to overcome and proved detrimental in another divisional loss.

Defensive line: B-

New York's pass rush was one of its clear advantages going into this matchup with the Patriots, and even though it failed to record a single sack after recording eight in the Week 5 win over the Browns, it was not without a lack of effort. The biggest highlight of the game from the group came when rookie David Bailey forced a fumble from New England running back TreVeyon Henderson in the third quarter.

While that was just the latest example of why Bailey is a strong contender for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award at the end of the season, the unit still allowed the Patriots to amass 148 yards on the ground and failed to consistently pressure QB Drake Maye, which hindered their chances at an upset considering the turnover-prone start to the season he has had.

Linebackers: B+

The LBs were active in this game, with Jamien Sherwood leading the charge. His huge hustle play to force a fumble on Patriots WR DeMario Douglas in the fourth quarter helped New York get back to within one score on the following offensive drive. In total, Sherwood had a team-high 11 tackles (six solo), one tackle for loss and one QB hit.

Demario Davis was also solid with seven tackles (six solo) and one pass defended, which was another sign of the active and physical play from the group. However, the LBs still had lapses in coverage and allowed Maye to record at least three passing TDs for the third consecutive game. Given his uptick in performance over the last few weeks, this was still a disappointing effort from a group that could not find a way to slow down the Patriots' signal-caller.

Secondary: C

After forcing New England to go three-and-out on its first possession, Maye connected with WR Romeo Doubs for a 42-yard TD on just the second play of the next drive to expose New York's structural mistakes in this game. Despite consecutive scoring drives from the Jets offense to cut the deficit down to four, safety Dane Belton left TE Hunter Henry wide open for the seven-yard score (h/t NFL) that put the Patriots back up by double digits.

Hunter Henry is wide open and extends the @Patriots lead!

NYJvsNE on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/XLoJlTgMzs

— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026

Belton had nine tackles and a pass defended in the game, but the third-worst coverage grade from Pro Football Focus (45.8) was not ideal for a player who has made a positive impact on this defense all season. Veteran Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered a fumble and provided some stability, but the Patriots still converted on two of their four red zone trips and exposed the lack of detail from Gang Green in tight coverage.

Special teams: B+

Kicker Jason Sanders built off his success in the rain at MetLife Stadium the week prior by going a perfect 4-of-4 on his field-goal attempts, making attempts from 42, 36, 40 and 36, along with his lone extra point. He even came close to executing an onside kick in the final seconds, but to no avail. Austin McNamara only had two punts the entire game, but he averaged 47 yards on them and hit a long of 53 yards.

Kene Nwangwu was also solid in kick returns with an average of 21.3 yards and a long return of 26. It was nothing spectacular, but it was the type of mistake-free play the Jets need to bail their offense out and set up some positive field position. The Jets did, however, allow the Patriots to have a 37-yard return in the fourth quarter and set themselves up for a late field goal to make it a 10-point game.

Coaching: D+

The Jets had numerous opportunities in this game to pull off the upset, but mistakes and poor execution in key moments hindered their chances. While they still made plays, head coach Aaron Glenn's defense did not create the pressure it needed to and allowed New England to convert eight of its 15 third-down attempts

Some of HC Aaron Glenn's decisions were a big reason why the Jets didn't pick up the win on Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Offensively, Frank Reich's group could not convert on its end and let massive opportunities slip away. Even when the Jets established some momentum and tried to make a rally, they could not sustain drives and always found themselves playing from behind.

Until Glenn can get his unit to pay attention to detail and Reich finds a way to get Wilson more involved in the offense, there are always going to be obstacles standing in Gang Green's way.

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