Jets-Patriots rivalry through the years

January 4, 2000
Bill Belichick resigns as head coach of the Jets at a press conference where he was supposed to accept the job. Belichick gave his resignation on a napkin, which read, "I resign as HC of the NYJ."

September 23, 2001
In a routine Jets/Patriots game, Jets linebacker Mo Lewis injures Drew Bledsoe, prompting Tom Brady to come into his first career NFL game. The Jets would go on to win 10-3. Brady would lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl win later that season.

December 2, 2001
Patriots come from behind to beat the Jets 17-16 at the Meadowlands. The Patriots win the game on an Adam Vinatieri field goal, the same way they would close out Super Bowl XXXVI to beat the St. Louis Rams a few months later.

December 22, 2002
New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington celebrates his first career start by defeating the Patriots 30-17.

January 17, 2006
Eric Mangini is named the head coach of the Jets, leaving his post as Patriots defensive coordinator. When Mangini returns to Gillette Stadium to retrieve his personal items, he is locked out of the building.

Second week of 2006 season
Patriots file tampering charges against the Jets for allegedly engaging in contract talks with wide receiver Deion Branch while he was still a member of the Patriots. The Jets were eventually cleared of all charges and Branch was traded to the Seattle Seahawks.

November 12, 2006
Belichick gives a brief handshake to Mangini after the Jets win at Gillette Stadium 17-14. Mangini called Belichick a friend leading up to the game, but the handshake was still cold.

January 7, 2007
In the AFC Wild Card game, the Patriots beat the Jets 37-16. Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini hug in the middle of the field at Gillette Stadium. Belichick pushed a photographer to get to Mangini.

September 9, 2007
"Spygate" developed after the first game of the 2007 season, when tapes of the Jets' defensive signals were confiscated from a Patriots employee on the sideline at Giants Stadium. New England won the game 38-14. Belichick was fined $500,000, while the team was fined $250,000 and was stripped of its first-round draft choice.

November 13, 2008:
Jay Feely's overtime field goal gives the Jets a 34-31 win at Gillette Stadium. The Jets improve to 7-3 and gain the inside track at the division title, but a 2-4 record down the stretch sinks their playoff hopes.

June 4, 2009
Referring to the New England Patriots' Super Bowl wins, newly-hired Rex Ryan tells the New York media, "I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick's rings. I came here to win, let's put it that way. I'm certainly not intimidated by New England or anybody else."

September 20, 2009
Prior to the 100th meeting in the all-time series between the two teams, Kerry Rhodes says the Jets want to "embarrass" the Patriots. New York settles for a 16-9 win, their first home victory against the Pats since 2000.

November 22, 2009
The Jets couldn't pull off the season sweep, as Mark Sanchez's four interceptions led to a 31-14 Patriots win. Darrelle Revis' matchup with Randy Moss was a subplot in the game, following a week of trash talk. Moss was largely held in check, but did have a touchdown reception.

Aug. 23, 2010
Tom Brady tells WEEI in Boston that he's not watching HBO's "Hard Knocks" featuring the Jets. “I hate the Jets. I refuse to support that show. . . . I’m sure it’s great TV and I’m glad people are liking it. But that’s something I have no interest in watching. I’d love to say a lot of mean things, too, but I’d rather not do that, either.” |

September 19, 2010
Continued trash talk between Darrelle Revis and Randy Moss almost made Week 2's meeting a subplot. Revis had called the Patriots receiver a "slouch" in an offseason interview, but Moss managed to get the better of Revis, hauling in a touchdown catch after burning Revis in man coverage. Revis left the game at halftime because of a sore ego - err - hamstring, but the Jets managed a come-from-behind 28-14 win.

December 6, 2010
Billed as the regular season game of the year between a pair of 9-2 teams, the Jets talked a great game leading up to it. The Patriots played a great game, sticking it to the Jets, 45-3. It was a reminder to all Jets fans that the Patriots are still who everyone thinks they are. Arguably the worst performance by the Jets in Rex Ryan's two-year tenure.

Jan. 10, 2011
One week after billing the Jets' opening round playoff game against the Colts as a battle between himself and Peyton Manning, Rex Ryan took it a step further, saying that the Jets-Pats playoff game was "about Bill Belichick vs. Rex Ryan." Ryan added that the game was personal, and that whichever team won would be the team that was coached best.

Jan. 11-12, 2011
Shortly after Rex Ryan expressed his disdain for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, Antonio Cromartie took it a step further. Cromartie called Brady - well - a bad, bad word. A day later, asked to clarify his remarks, Cromartie stood by what he said, adding that he hated Brady. Rex Ryan - and the rest of the Jets, for that matter - had Cromartie's back; all this just a few days before the Jets-Patriots AFC Divisional Playoff game.

Jan. 16, 2011
After a week of trashing Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the Jets backed up their smack talk but beating the top-seeded Patriots in the AFC Divisional round, 28-21, on their own turf. Mark Sanchez threw three touchdowns and Rex Ryan's defense harassed Tom Brady all day (five sacks, one INT).

Nov. 13, 2011
In a Week 10 battle for first place in the AFC East, the Jets turned the ball over three times and Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes in a 37-16 romp by the Patriots at MetLife Stadium. |

October 20, 2013
A pushing penalty against the Patriots on Nick Folk's 56-yard field goal attempt gave the Jets another opportunity to hit the game-winner in overtime, which Folk did from 42 yards. That set off three days of back-and-forth talk between Rex Ryan and Bill Belichick, ending with Ryan saying, "[Belichick's] got to make up his mind. Was he aware of this thing? Was it second-level, all this kind of jazz, or now the story is we did it? OK, I got you. The fact is we're moving on."

March 13, 2014
Shortly after being released by Tampa Bay, Darrelle Revis found a new home in New England, one season after being traded by the Jets to the Buccaneers.

Dec. 27, 2015

The Jets were gifted a golden opportunity in overtime, when the Patriots won the coin toss but inexplicably elected to kick the ball. And that paved the way for a game-winning drive by Ryan Fitzpatrick in a 26-20 Jets overtime win. Fitzpatrick had completions of 48 yards to Quincy Enunwa and 20 yards to Brandon Marshall before hitting Eric Decker on a 6-yard TD in the right corner of the end zone with 2:37 gone in overtime.