The Sports Xchange

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It was not pretty, but Tom Brady was there with his latest fourth-quarter magic on Sunday.

“We made the plays when we needed to make them and that was the important thing,” Brady said after two fourth-quarter drives powered the Patriots (6-0) to a 30-23 victory over the New York Jets.

Brady’s 48th (counting postseason) career fourth-quarter comeback brought New England out of a 20-16 hole to the win — their 47th victory in their last 51 home games and their 77th straight when leading at halftime at home.

It also spoiled the return of Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis to New England.

Brady, who never threw at Revis all day, had over 300 passing yards for the 68th time in his career. He hit wide receiver Danny Amendola for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 7:16 left and got the ball back after a Jets punt. New England then drove again and Brady was 6 of 8 on the possession, beating an overload blitz over left tackle with an easy 15-yard TD pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski to put the Patriots up 30-20 with 1:13 remaining. It was Gronkowski’s 60th career touchdown catch.

Facing a 10-point deficit, the Jets (4-2) opted for Nick Folk’s third field goal of the game, a 55-yarder with 18 seconds left, and Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall then recovered an onside kick at the New England 48 with 15 seconds remaining. But after a completion to the Patriots’ 40, Marshall was not set when quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick spiked the ball with one second remaining. That penalty resulted in a runoff to end the game.

What we learned about the Patriots:

1. The Patriots can win in many ways. With running backs Dion Lewis and Brandon Bolden hurt, with the offensive line banged up and the Jets toting a strong run defense, the Patriots ignored the run Sunday, as Tom Brady was the team’s leading rusher with 15 yards, 11 of them on one scramble and one on a touchdown jump over the pile from the 1.

“You know, we wanted to play fast and wanted to kind of slow them down by moving the ball by getting in-and-out of plays and getting in-and-out of the huddle and going quickly,” wide receiver Danny Amendola said of the Patriots’ game plan. “Wo that was our motive.”

2. New England did not look like the hands team on Sunday, and it could have been very costly. The Patriots dropped 12 Tom Brady passes on Sunday, six of them by wide receiver Brandon LaFell, playing in his first game of the season off IR.

“If I had to give myself a grade, it would be an ‘F.’ I let the ball get out of my hands too many times,” LaFell said. “Tom (Brady) threw some good balls, I should have caught them. But overall we got the win. I just have to get back to it. We have a short week. Dust the cobwebs off and come back out here and play.”

There were drops all over the place, even two by Julian Edelman, but Edelman, Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski combined for 24 catches, 248 yards and two touchdowns. All in a day’s work.

3. The Patriots continue to rule the AFC East roost.

Maybe the Jets aren’t far away, but the road to the division crown still runs through Foxborough.

“I am (angry), because I feel like we had them,” Jets guard Willie Colon said. “I feel like we were the better team out there but obviously we were not. We just have to move on and get ready for Oakland. They beat us fair and square and that is the bottom line. We have to do better and execute better. We have to make more plays.”

Etc.

–QB Tom Brady was at it again Sunday, pulling off his 48th fourth-quarter comeback with two late drives for the win over the New York Jets. He threw for 355 yards, his 68th 300-yard game and he has thrown at least two touchdown passes in all six games this season. He has also won eight straight at home against the rival New York Jets.

–TE Rob Gronkowski caught a career-high 11 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown in the win. His regular season high had been nine and he caught 10 in a 2012 playoff game. The 100-yard game was his 18th, seventh among NFL tight ends and he already has three this season. The TD catch was the 60th of his career, coming in his 71st game and making him the third-fastest to 60.

–K Stephen Gostkowski nailed all three of his field goal attempts in the win. He has connected on a person al-best 24 straight in the regular season, one shy of Adam Vinatieri’s club record. Gostkowski also had one in the playoffs last season so has actually made 25 in a row. His current streak of 435 extra points, but hit the upright Sunday, the ball deflecting through. He hasn’t missed an extra point since Dec. 31, 2006, at Tennessee.