The New England Patriots got back on track on Sunday, defeating the New York Jets 22-17 to get them back to .500 with a 4-4 record.

Here are five takeaways from their win over the now 5-3 Jets.

Mac Jones was ā€¦ fine

After how the Monday night game against the Chicago Bears played out, all the attention in Sunday's game was going to be on the Patriots' quarterback situation, and in particular, Mac Jones.

Those clamoring for Bailey Zappe might have gotten their wish late in the first half. After Zach Wilson gifted the Patriots the ball with an interception in the final minute of the half, Jones did the same for the Jets and appeared to help give them six points, too. Jones threw a pass directly to Jets defensive back Michael Carter, who took the ball all the way to the endzone, but it was called back due to a roughing the passer penalty that didn't affect the throw.

Jones' throw was arguably the worst of his career considering the situation, even if it didn't count. It also appeared to lead New England's coaching staff to play it conservatively and settle for a field goal to go into halftime down 10-6 instead of trying to tie the game.

However, Jones settled in a bit in the opening drive of the second half. After getting some help from a poor kickoff and Rhamondre Stevenson, Jones got the Patriots into the red zone with a solid pass to Tyquan Thornton along the left sideline. He completed a nine-yard pass to Jakobi Meyers on the ensuing play. On third-and-1, Jones had to overthrow Meyers on a fade route because Sauce Gardiner's coverage on him was strong, but he made a good read out of the shotgun to connect with Meyers for a five-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-1. The play showed solid decisiveness from Jones, especially after he appeared to lack it on a fourth-and-1 play earlier in the game.

Jones really didn't do much though for the remainder of the day as the Patriots kicked three more field goals, mostly due to Jets runovers. He completed 8-of-11 passes following the Patriots' lone touchdown drive and finished the day with 194 passing yards, a touchdown pass, and a pick.

The interception wasn't all on Jones as Jets defensive end Bryce Huff's strong pass rush led to him deflecting Jones' pass right as the ball came out of his hand, making it flutter in midair on a third-and-long play. Jones also had some solid plays on the Patriots' first scoring drive at the end of the first quarter, helping them pick up two first downs through the air on a decent distance on third down and rushed for another first on a third-and-5.

Jones also had some solid plays on the drive they turned the ball over on downs, rushing for 17 yards on two scrambles and completing five of seven passes for 47 yards. He didn't have the best protection either on Sunday a career-high six times by a monstrous Jets defensive front.

Jones certainly wasn't great on Sunday, and he probably wasn't good, either. But he was good enough for the win and probably played well enough to at least by the starting quarterback against the Indianapolis Colts next week. After that? Who knows.

The Patriots O-line was a mess

There were likely several contributing factors that led to Jones getting sacked six times on Sunday. Center David Andrews was out and the Jets' defensive front is really good. But the unit simply didn't play well.

Rookie left guard Cole Strange, in particular, didn't have a good game. He was called for a pair of holding penalties and appeared to allow at least one sack, if not more. He was benched for much of the fourth quarter, with Isaiah Wynn replacing him. Wynn was left guard as Marcus Cannon took his spot at right tackle. That didn't go too well, either. Cannon allowed the deflected pass to happen on Jones' lone interception of the game.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick appears to know that the offensive line is a problem, too. He told the CBS announcers in the production meeting that ā€œinconsistent play at offensive tackleā€ has been an issue for them this season. If the Patriots have any hopes of making a playoff push, they might have to make a move ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline to strengthen the position.

Rhamondre Stevenson was a force

New England's second-year running back might be its best player. Stevenson contributed in both the passing and running games, seven passes for 72 yards and ran for 71 yards on 16 carries.

While the Patriots' offensive line struggled for much of Sunday, Stevenson made up for them. He was credited for 81 yards after contact by Pro Football Focus. He notably turned multiple plays that appeared dead in the water, specifically receptions, into decent-sized gains. His 35-yard run on the Patriots' opening play of the second half got them cooking as well.

The only mistake Stevenson might have noticeably made on Sunday was on his 14-yard run on New England's first play of its second drive. He appeared to have some tunnel vision, breaking into the middle of the field instead of breaking outside, where he had a lot of daylight.

All in all though, another strong game for Stevenson.

Patriots corners had a shaky day

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson completed less than half his passes and threw three interceptions, yet he still had 355 passing yards.

That was because the Patriots' secondary allowed a few big plays. Jalen Mills got beat by Jets rookie receiver Garrett Wilson for a 54-yard gain in the first quarter. Myles Bryant appeared to be responsible for a 63-yard reception by Denzel Mims on New York's final possession of the game.

Patriots rookie corner Jack Jones was mostly solid though, giving up a few receptions that went for short gains. Jonathan Jones played a few passes well, too.

New England's approach to Zach Wilson worked

After Justin Fields torched them on the ground for 84 yards in Week 7, the Patriots seemed to find a good way to approach another young quarterback that can make plays with his legs on Sunday.

The Patriots might not have kept Zach Wilson in the pocket all the time, but they kept him scrambling behind the line of scrimmage several times. Two of Wilson's interceptions came as he was rolling so far right that he nearly ran out of bounds. They also nearly got him to roll out of his own endzone for a safety.

New England might have only had two sacks on 43 dropbacks, with both coming toward the end of the game, but it also allowed Wilson to run just once, which went for only two yards. Matthew Judon stayed his ground a lot on Wilson's scrambles behind the line of scrimmage after the Bears appeared to attack him when he overpursued last week.

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