FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -Matt Cassel connected with Randy Moss on a 16-yard touchdown pass with one second left in the fourth quarter to help the New England Patriots pull into a 31-31 tie with the New York Jets on Thursday night with first place in the AFC East at stake.
Brett Favre threw two scoring passes then directed a long drive capped by Thomas Jones’ 1-yard touchdown run with 3:10 left that gave the Jets a 31-24 lead. But the Patriots, who had already rallied from a 24-6 deficit, mounted one last drive, moving 62 yards in 64 seconds with no timeouts.
Cassel was 30-of-51 for 400 yards and three touchdowns through the end of regulation – all of them career-highs. He led New England down the field with time-wasting short passes across the middle, spiking the ball to stop the clock with eight seconds left.
Forced to scramble from the pocket, he found Moss on the right side of the end zone and the receiver fell out of bounds as he grabbed the ball, barely getting his second foot in bounds before hitting the ground. A replay review upheld the catch, and Stephen Gostkowski’s extra point tied it 31-31.
Leon Washington scored on a 92-yard kickoff return and a 7-yard touchdown pass, and Jerricho Cotchery followed an acrobatic catch with a TD reception for the Jets.
The Patriots made it 10-6 on Gostkowski’s second field goal, then Washington took the ensuing kickoff on the right side, cut through the middle of the field and around the kicker and outran the rest of the coverage team to the goal line.
The Jets went 87 yards in five plays on their next drive, with Favre hitting Cotchery three times for 79 yards. The two hooked up for 18 yards from the New York 13, and after Jones ran for 7 yards, Favre heaved one down the left sideline in Cotchery’s direction.
Turned around by the pass and tugged at by cornerback Ellis Hobbs, Cotchery made a one-handed grab as his back hit the turf. The 46-yard gain brought the Jets to the New England 16, and one play later Favre found Cotchery in the middle and he fought through the defense to reach over the goal line with the ball to make it 24-6.
The Patriots finally found the end zone when Cassel connected with Jabar Gaffney for a 19-yard score that made it 24-13 just before halftime. As the third quarter ended, Cassel scrambled free and hit Benjamin Watson with a 10-yard TD pass, then hit Gaffney on the 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to 24-21.
The Jets kept their opening drive alive when Favre connected with Laveranues Coles on the right sideline on a third-and-6 from the Patriots’ 45 yard-line; the on-field ruling of out of bounds was overturned on replay, and the Jets got a first down at the New England 37.
The Patriots made it 7-3 on Gostkowski’s 42-yard field goal with 4:25 left in the quarter. The Jets had a chance to open a big lead when Favre took them to the 4, but his pass into the end zone went through Dustin Keller’s hands and they settled for Jay Feely’s 22-yard field goal that made it 10-3.
The Patriots and Jets had matching 6-3 records that left them atop the division, but New York is hoping this is its year to break through. New England has won five straight AFC East titles and six of seven while picking up four conference championships and three Super Bowl victories.
Favre has helped the Jets win their last three games and five of six while leading the AFC in completion percentage. Cassel, the former backup to Tom Brady, has led the Patriots wins in three of their last four.
The rivalry between New York and New England has spiked over the last decade, with Bill Belichick leaving the Jets for the Patriots and Bill Parcells and Eric Mangini going in the opposite direction. Last year, the Patriots were punished by the league after they were caught illegally videotaping the Jets’ sideline signals.
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