The Jets head to Foxborough on Sunday for their final game of the season and possibly their final game against Bill Belichick as Patriots coach.
Belichick famously left the Jets at the altar in 2000 and then joined the Patriots as their head coach after weeks of negotiations and bickering.
Who could have known then that Belichick would torment the Jets the way he has?
It did not start off bad. The Jets won their first three meetings with Belichick’s Patriots, but things changed in that third matchup when Mo Lewis knocked Drew Bledsoe out of the game and backup Tom Brady entered.
The Patriots would soon become a dynasty — one the Jets would have to see twice a year.
The Jets are 11-38 against Belichick and the Patriots, including a staggering 2-23 in their past 25 games against him. The Jets have lost 15 straight games in the rivalry entering Sunday’s game.
There have been plenty of bad memories for the Jets against Belichick. But let’s focus on the positives this week.
Here is a six-pack of big wins for the Jets against the Patriots, in chronological order:
Sunday Dec. 22, 2002: Jets 30, Patriots 17
at Gillette Stadium
The Patriots were the defending Super Bowl champions, but they were 8-6 entering this Sunday night game. The Jets were 7-7. Both teams were fighting to stay alive in the race for the AFC East crown.
The game was tied at 17-17 in the third quarter when Troy Brown muffed a punt for the Patriots and the Jets’ Nick Ferguson recovered at the New England 19. John Hall kicked a field goal to give the Jets a 20-17 lead late in the third.
Chad Pennington threw his third touchdown of the game, this one to Wayne Chrebet, in the fourth quarter to put the Jets up by 10 points on the way to the win.
The Jets beat the Packers the following week to win the division. It is the last time the Jets won the AFC East.
Nov. 12, 2006: Jets 17, Patriots 14
at Gillette Stadium
This one was all about Jets coach Eric Mangini, who had left New England to take the Jets’ job before the 2006 season, drawing the ire of his former mentor.
The Jets got a touchdown from Kevan Barlow and then Pennington hit Jerricho Cotchery for a touchdown with 4:45 left in the game to make it 17-6. The Patriots closed to within three points, but Shaun Ellis sacked Brady to end it.
After the game, Belichick and Mangini had a quick handshake and barely looked at each other, something that became a tradition when they met.
The game was played in a steady rain that created poor footing. That led the Patriots to tear up the grass at Gillette Stadium and replace it with turf in the middle of the season.
The two teams met again in the playoffs in Foxborough, and the Patriots won 37-16.
Nov. 13, 2008: Jets 34, Patriots 31 (OT)
at Gillette Stadium
This is one of the few games in which Brady was not playing quarterback for the Patriots. Backup Matt Cassel squared off with Jets quarterback Brett Favre on a Thursday night.
This game had a ton of drama and back-and-forth swings. The Jets had an 18-point lead in the first half, but Cassel and the Patriots kept coming. Cassel completed 30 of 51 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns. Favre was also great, going 26-of-33 for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
Cassel connected with Randy Moss for a 16-yard touchdown with one second left in the game to make it 31-31 and force overtime. The Jets got the ball and Favre marched them down the field, including a third-and-15 pass to Dustin Keller for a first down.
Kicker Jay Feely made a 34-yard field goal to win the game.
The victory moved the Jets to 7-3, and it felt as if they were heading to the Super Bowl. There was a video of general manager Mike Tannenbaum celebrating outside the Jets locker room, giving enthusiastic slaps on the back to every player who came through the door.
The Jets collapsed down the stretch after Favre tore his biceps tendon. They finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. That led to Mangini getting fired and Favre retiring before unretiring to go to the Vikings.
Sept. 20, 2009: Jets 16, Patriots 9
at Giants Stadium
This was the first home game for new coach Rex Ryan and new quarterback Mark Sanchez.
It may have been the loudest Jets game ever at the old Meadowlands. Ryan fired the crowd up by leaving a voicemail for all the season-ticket holders during the week before the game imploring them to be loud. After the game, Ryan awarded a game ball to the fans.
Sanchez had a quiet first half, but found Keller for a go-ahead touchdown on the first drive of the second half. The Jets defense was ferocious. Brady had just 216 passing yards and was intercepted by Darrelle Revis.
The Patriots had a chance to tie the game, but Dwight Lowery knocked away a fourth-down pass to end it.
Jan. 16, 2011: Jets 28, Patriots 21
at Gillette Stadium
This is the Jets’ biggest win over Belichick and one of the biggest wins in franchise history. After losing 45-3 to the Patriots a month earlier, the Jets returned for the Divisional round of the AFC playoffs.
The Jets defense was lights-out and frustrated Brady all day. Sanchez threw a touchdown to Braylon Edwards at the end of the first half to take a 14-3 lead.
New England battled back, but Sanchez connected with Santonio Holmes for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter that put the Jets up, 21-11. Shonn Greene scored with 1:41 left to give the Jets a 28-14 lead. The Patriots responded with a touchdown, but could not recover the onside kick and the game was over.
The victory sent the Jets to the AFC Championship Game for the second straight year. They would lose to the Steelers, and they have not been back to the playoffs since. It appeared the power in the AFC East might be changing with this win, but the Jets would only beat the Patriots twice in the next 12 years.
Dec. 27, 2015: Jets 26, Patriots 20 (OT)
at MetLife Stadium
Brandon Marshall scored two touchdowns in this game, and his second put the Jets up, 17-3. But Brady and the Patriots rallied and tied the game up 20-20 on a James White touchdown with less than two minutes to play.
In overtime, the Patriots won the coin toss and surprisingly elected to kick. The Jets went right down the field with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing a long pass to Quincy Enunwa and then finding Eric Decker for the game-winning touchdown.
This was the Jets’ fifth consecutive win and pushed them to 10-5. They had to win the next week in Buffalo to make the playoffs, but they lost.
This is the last time the Jets beat the Patriots and also the last time the Jets finished the season with a winning record. Dark days would follow this game.
Bad recipe
The Jets have parted ways with Dalvin Cook after giving him a one-year, $7 million contract this summer.
This deal never made sense to me. Players are free agents in August for a reason. The Vikings knew Cook was no longer a featured running back and let him go. No other teams were offering a contract near what the Jets offered.
There was some thought he could carry the load early in the season while Breece Hall eased his way in following his ACL injury. But the Jets were confident Hall would be able to be a big part of the offense early in the season, so that did not feel like a good reason to sign Cook.
This is another signing that has Aaron Rodgers’ fingerprints on it. He wanted the Jets to sign Cook, so they did.
It was clear early on that the Jets did not trust Cook, and he barely played this season. This was a terrible signing.
Stat’s so
The Jets will try to snap a 15-game losing streak against the Patriots on Sunday that dates back to 2016. It is tied for the fifth-longest losing streak against one team in NFL history. Here is the list of the worst:
Bills, vs. Dolphins — 20 (1970-79)
Rams, vs. 49ers — 17 (1990-98)
Broncos, vs. Chiefs — 16 (2015-23)
Lions, vs. Washington — 16 (1968-97)
Jets, vs. Patriots — 15 (2016-current)
Bills, vs. Patriots — 15 (2003-10)
Cardinals, vs. Packers — 15 (1937-46)
Source: New England Patriots
