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Jets 26, Patriots 29, OT (Recap)

The much maligned New England Patriots defense let another lead slip away late in a football game.

And then proceeded to win the game as well.

Rob Ninkovich recovered a Mark Sanchez fumble in overtime after he and Jermaine Cunningham combined on a sack as the New England Patriots squeaked out a 29-26 win over the New York Jets, reclaiming sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

Two of New England’s losses had come after losing fourth-quarter leads, including last week’s 24-23 defeat in Seattle. After Stephen Gostkowski hit a 48-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime, the defense closed out the game on the Jets one and only drive in the extra session.

“I just saw the ball snapped and I tried to just get to the ball,” Cunningham said. “The whole defense worked together because we had good coverage and decent pass rush and came up with the ball.”

Before the defense had a chance to win the game, Tom Brady had to deliver his 35th game-winning comeback to extend the contest. Down by three with 97 seconds remaining, Brady drove New England 54 yards into field goal range, completing four of five passes, including his first two to tight end Rob Gronkowski for a combined 27 yards. Gostowski converted on a 43-yard field goal on the last play of regulation to send the game to overtime.

“It comes down to a few plays,” said Brady, who threw a touchdown pass in his 39th consecutive game. “ We had opportunities last week. We had opportunities against Baltimore. We had opportunities against the Cardinals. When you make the plays, you win the game. We’re 4-3. We have the whole season ahead of us.”

“It’s nice to win the close games. It’s nice when you’re down three with 1:40 in the game.”

New England led 23-13 more than halfway through the fourth quarter before the Jets scored 13 unanswered points to seemingly catapult them into the division lead.

Taking advantage of a porous secondary playing without starting safeties Patrick Chung and Steve Gregory, Sanchez — completing less than 50 percent of his throws coming in — hit on 28 of his 41 passes for a season-high 328 yards. His only touchdown of the game came on a 7-yard pass to tight end Dustin Keller with 5:44 remaining, which completed a 14-play, 92-yard drive in which he completed nine of his 10 passes.

“We needed a touchdown and things were opening up for us,” Sanchez said. “I thought we just stayed with a lot of plays that may not have been open earlier. Sometimes you go through stretches in a game when sometimes it’s not working. But that’s the most important time to just keep your head up and know that one of those long drives could be just around the corner.”

An offensive pass interference penalty on New England receiver Brandon Lloyd stalled New England’s next drive, and New York quickly marched down the field, in prime position to go in front. On a third-and-four from the New England 25, Stephen Hill dropped a sure first-down reception on the right side at the 12, leaving the Jets to settle for a Folk 43-yarder to tie the game at 23.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Jets head coach Rex Ryan. “I think he (Hill) was trying to make a big play and so many times when that happens, you’ve got to catch the ball first, then worry about making the run after the catch. It looked like he has a lot of room afterwards.”

As quick as the Jets lost a golden opportunity to take the lead, it presented itself to them again on the ensuing kickoff. Devin McCourty, who had returned a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, fumbled on the ensuing kickoff by a hit from Lex Hilliard. Antonio Allen recovered the ball at the New England 18 just before the two-minute warning and the Jets in the driver’s seat.

Choosing to play conservatively and force the Patriots to call its timeouts, New York ran the ball the first two plays on the drive, gaining three yards total. The Jets when went away from that script on third down, but Sanchez was sacked by rookie Dont’a Hightower on a roll-out on third down at the 25. Folk made another 43-yard field goal, giving the Jets a three-point cushion with 1:37.

Too much time for Brady.

“At the time, we did try to throw it,” Ryan said. “On third down, we thought we could make a play but unfortunately they ended up making a good play.”

New York got off to the perfect start on its first offensive possession, with Sanchez completing passes to Jeremy Kerley for 24 and 19 yards. Shonn Greene plunged into the end zone on a one-yard run for a 7-0 New York advantage, giving the Jets its first lead in a regular season game at Gillette Stadium since 2008.

That lead lasted all of 12 seconds, as Devin McCourty took the ensuing kickoff down the left sideline virtually untouched, scoring form 104 yards. The kickoff was the second-longest in Patriots history.

Brady then ushered in the no-huddle offense, and it paid immediate dividends on their next drive. Completions to Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez advanced New England to the Jets 21, and three plays later, Brady arced a perfect ball to the left sideline in the end zone to Gronkowski, who made a diving catch past the outstretched arm of safety LaRon Landry to give the Patriots a 14-7 lead with 6:30 remaining in the first.

In the second quarter, the Pats defense got into the scoring. Ahand off between Sanchez and Shonn Greene was botched at their own 12-yard line, with the ball being inadvertently kicked by Patriots linemen Vince Wilfork towards the end zone. Instead of taking the risk of picking up the ball in the end zone, Sanchez kicked the ball through the back of the end zone, and the Patriots were up 16-7.

Able to hold off the Patriots from scoring after the free kick, New York took over from its own 16 and Sanchez continued to find his go-to target in Kerley, completing a pass for 5 yards on the first play of the drive, and a 22-yard pass to the right to get the ball into Patriots territory, part of a career-high 120 yards receiving day. Although playing a mostly mistake-free game, Sanchez woefully missed a wide-open Hill in the end zone, with the ball being underthrown and intercepted by rookie defensive back Alfonzo Dennard at the 2-yard line.

The Jets were able to salvage something before the end of the half, with Sanchez leading a two-minute drill drive to near perfection, positioning Folk to hit a season-long 54-yard field goal to end the half and cut the lead to 16-10 at intermission.

An 11-play drive to start the second half ended in a Folk 21-yard field goal for New York to cut the lead to three, but the Patriots had an equally impressive answer to build its lead to 10. New England converted four third downs on a 15-play, 83-yard drive, the last being his second touchdown pass to Gronkowski from two yards out.

Photo by Stephan Saviola/AP Photo

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