Passage: The Patriots' next opponent was the New York Jets, on Thursday Night Football. For the fourth straight home game the Patriots played the Jets in a contest where the final margin of victory was less than ten points, and third straight where the margin didn't exceed three points. Tom Brady made his 200th career regular season start. On the fourth play of the game, Shane Vereen went completely unnoticed by the Jets' secondary, on a wheel route,  and Brady hit him for a 49-yard touchdown, just 1:29 into the game. Following this, the Jets drove all the ways to the Patriots 9. On 1st-and-goal, Geno Smith hit Jeremy Kerley for a touchdown, but the play was nullified when offensive guard Oday Aboushi was flagged for holding. The Patriots defense kept them out of the end zone over the next three plays and the Jets settled for a 22-yard field goal from Nick Folk. After a Patriots three-and-out, the Jets seemed primed for a touchdown, but another critical holding call moved the Jets out of the red zone, and Folk kicked a 47-yard field goal, making the score 7-6. The Patriots went three-and-out yet again, but once more the Jets could only get a Folk field goal, this one from 46 yards, but the Jets took their first lead, 9-7. This time the Patriots responded this time, racing 80 yards in 10 plays to take the lead on Brady's 3-yard touchdown pass to Vereen, this one for 3 yards, to take the lead. The Jets reached the Patriots 9 for the second time, but the Patriots defense once again turned into a brick wall in the red zone, and Folk had to kick his fourth field goal of the half to bring the score to 14-12. A crucial pass-interference penalty on Asher Allen on the Patriots' next drive, helped them reach Jets' territory and Gostkowski kicked a 39-yard field goal, giving the Patriots a 17-12 lead at halftime.  On the Jets first drive of the third quarter they continued their clock-draining strategy with an 11-play, 6:02 drive, this time reaching the end zone again with Chris Ivory scoring on a 1-yard touchdown plunge, giving the Jets their second lead of the game, 19-17. Once again though, the Patriots countered, moving 53 yards to the Jets 18, and Gostkowski banged in a 36-yard field goal, taking a 20-19 lead. The next five combined possessions ended in punts. With 10:51 remaining in the game, Tom Brady engineered a Brady-esque drive reaching the Jets 4. A 6-yard false start penalty on Wright and a 10-yard offensive pass interference penalty on LaFell sent them back to the Jets 19. Following an in-completion to Vereen, on 3rd-and-Goal, Brady rolled out to the left and found Danny Amendola for the touchdown, extending the Patriots' lead to 27-19. This was Amendola's only catch of the game. The Jets didn't give up though. Geno Smith engineered a 12-play, 86-yard drive, finding tight end Jeff Cumberland for a 10-yard TD pass to cut the Patriots' lead to two points with 2:31 remaining. However, the 2-point conversion failed and the Jets still trailed, 27-25. Amendola recovered the onside kick, but the Jets defense stepped up, preventing the Patriots from running out the clock, giving the Jets one last chance at an upset with 1:06 remaining. Starting at their own 31, Geno Smith hit David Nelson for 11 yards to the Jets 42. Next, completing a pass to Jeremy Kerley for 13 to the Patriots 45. Chris Ivory ran for five yards before heading out of bounds at the Patriots 40. After an incomplete pass, Folk came on to attempt the game-winning 58-yard field with 0:05 seconds left, but the kick was blocked by defensive lineman Chris Jones, who had been called for a personal foul on a field goal attempt against the Jets the previous season which led to Folk's game winning 42-yard field goal, and the Patriots escaped with their third win in a row. Though not spectacular, Brady was efficient, completing  20 of 37 passes for 261 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Geno Smith completed 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. Vereen was the top rusher & receiver for the Patriots with 43 yards rushing and 71 receiving. It was learned shortly after the game that stalwart defensive end Chandler Jones injured his hip and would miss seven games. The Jets ran for 218 yards on the night, led by Chris Ivory, who continued to be a pest to the Patriots, gaining 107 yards on 21 carries. Chris Johnson added 61 yards on 13 carries.The Jets out-gained the Patriots 423-323 and absolutely controlled the clock winning T.O.P. 40:54-19:06, but the Patriots defense tightened down when it mattered.
Output: How many touchdowns did Tom Brady throw in the first half?