The Patriots are trending upward following Monday’s 30-27 victory over the winless Jets, with quarterback Cam Newton completing a turnover-free game.

For Newton, who threw for 274 yards and made 27 of 35 attempts, the reason for the improvement is “simple.” And, no, it wasn’t only about the opponent.

“I’m getting tired of sucking. Simple,” Newton said postgame.

“As a competitor, you know what your standard is. Taking pride in your work, that’s what it comes down to. You not being able to hold your head up because you’re thinking too much, that’s one thing. But at the same time, you’re solely responsible for the performance that you put up. I was extremely disappointed.”

Prior to Monday night’s game, Newton had three turnovers in a Week 7 loss to the 49ers, and two in Week 6’s defeat against the Broncos. Last week, Newton had a game-changing fumble in an AFC East showdown against the Bills.

Newton noted how “the last couple of games kind of builds character.”

“We did a good job of situational football, trailing at halftime and just being resilient and battling back as an offense … for us to turn the opportunities into points is something we’ve been working on and harping on all year. For it to show up today was good. We just have to keep building off it,” the quarterback said.

That will certainly be more challenging as the level of competition rises from the winless Jets to the 6-2 Ravens.