FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — We have focused on the quarterback all season, and Justin Fields deserves plenty of blame for the way this dismal Jets season has gone.

Take flight with the Jets

Text with Brian Costello all season as he brings Sports+ subscribers the latest Jets intel from on the field and off.

But you can’t pin Thursday night’s 27-14 loss to the Patriots all on Fields. He was not great. The Jets sometimes look like they think the forward pass is illegal.

That is all true, but so is this: This one was also on the vaunted Jets defense.

You remember the Jets defense, right? The unit that was supposed to be the strength of the 2025 Jets? The group was not good as its No. 3 ranking indicated last year but was still a strong unit that had star players at every level.