FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns and the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets 30-21 with a vastly improved defense Sunday.
Tom Brady had another strong game, completing 24-of-33 passes for 321 yards and one touchdown as the Patriots scored at least 30 points for the 13th straight regular-season game.
Meanwhile, New York’s Mark Sanchez had another tough one, passing for just 166 yards against the team that entered with the NFL’s lowest-ranked defense.
In the last meeting between the Jets and Patriots, Sanchez outplayed Brady in New York’s 28-21 playoff win on Jan. 16, adding to the fierce rivalry between the AFC East teams. But the crowd was unusually subdued throughout the first half Sunday, perhaps because of the lackluster play that included six penalties by each team.
The Patriots (4-1) won their 19th straight regular-season game at home. The Jets (2-3) lost their third straight game.
New England never trailed, scoring the first 10 points and leading 10-7 at halftime.
The Jets staged a comeback after falling behind 27-14, marching 85 yards to a 21-yard scoring pass from Sanchez to Santonio Holmes. Sanchez was 5-for-6 on the drive for 65 yards — more than 40 percent of his total.
But the Patriots came right back, holding the ball for 6:12 and scoring with 1:02 remaining on Stephen Gostkowski’s 28-yard field goal, his third of the game.
