Drake Maye throws three touchdown passes as the Patriots hold off the Jets 26-19

The New England Patriots did not play their best game on Sunday. They won anyway.

Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes as the Patriots held off the New York Jets 26-19 in Foxborough for their third win in a row. New England is now 4-2 and 2-0 in the AFC East.

Maye stays hot

Maye went 18 of 32 for 235 yards. It was his third straight game with at least three touchdown passes.

Romeo Doubs made a diving 42-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter but hurt his shoulder on the play and did not return. DeMario Douglas caught a 9-yard score and finished with a team-high seven catches for 86 yards. Hunter Henry added a 7-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"It was sloppy. It wasn't clean," Maye said.

Coach Mike Vrabel's team has a simple rule about that. Never apologize for a win.

"None of us were at our best today, but we were good enough," Vrabel said.

Line takes a beating

The win was costly up front. Right tackle Morgan Moses hurt his ankle. Left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker was ruled out with a hamstring injury. Right guard Ben Brown was helped off in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.

A.J. Brown came back from injured reserve but did not look in sync. He caught three passes for 27 yards and dropped three of the 10 balls thrown his way.

Jets come up short

New York cut a 17-3 halftime deficit to 17-10 when rookie Omar Cooper Jr. got behind the defense for a 42-yard touchdown from Geno Smith. Cooper had six catches for 103 yards in his first game back after missing four with an ankle injury.

David Bailey then stripped TreVeyon Henderson and the Jets drove to the 10. An Elijah Ponder sack forced them to settle for a Jason Sanders field goal.

Down 23-13 after Henry's touchdown and a missed extra point, Smith went deep for Kenyon Sadiq. Charles Woods picked it off. It was Smith's first interception of the season on his 166th pass.

New York went 0 for 3 in the red zone and was stuffed on fourth-down runs on back-to-back drives in the second quarter. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez returned from a two-game absence to help lead the Patriots defense.

"We gifted two touchdowns that shouldn't have happened," Jets coach Aaron Glenn said.

New England has won 19 of the last 21 meetings with New York. The Patriots visit Chicago on Thursday night. The Jets (2-4) host Miami next Sunday.