National Football League

Patriots lead Jets 42-12 in 4th quarter

Published Nov. 23, 2012 4:09 a.m. ET

foxsports

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots led the turnover-prone New York Jets 42-12 early in the fourth quarter Thursday night.

Brady threw for three touchdown passes and had a scoring run. New England turned four New York turnovers into touchdowns as they piled up 35 points in the second quarter to break the game open.

Brady opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker on the first play of the second quarter, and the Jets made it easy for the Patriots after that.

Shonn Greene's fumble gave the ball back to the Patriots, and Brady needed only one play, an 83-yard pass to Shane Vereen to put New England up 14-0.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez fumbled on New York's next possession, and Steve Gregory scooped up the loose ball for a 32-yard return and a 21-0 lead.

And the Jets gave them one more.

Joe McKnight fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Julian Edelman ran it in from 22 yards, New England's third touchdown in a 52-second span.

Brady hit Edelman with 56-yard scoring pass with 3:08 left as the Patriots widened the lead to 35-0, and Jets fans started chanting for Tim Tebow to replace Sanchez.

The Jets finally scored on Nick Folk's 32-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining.

In the third, the Jets heard a chorus of boos from the home crowd when they failed to score on four tries from the 3 with Greene stopped on fourth down from a half-yard out.

The Jets did wind up with two points on the exchange when Patriots running back Stevan Ridley was called for a chop block in the end zone, giving the Jets a safety that reduced the Patriots lead to 35-5.

The safety gave the Jets possession of the ball, and they converted for their first touchdown with 4:41 left in the quarter. New York needed only four plays to cover 71 yards with Bilal Powell running in from 4 yards.

In the fourth, Brady sneaked in from the 1 to give New England a 42-12 lead.

The Patriots played without star tight end Rob Gronkowski. He's expected to miss at least a month because of a broken left forearm.

New England activated tight end Aaron Hernandez. He missed the last three games because of an ankle injury.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick needs a victory to become the eighth NFL coach to reach 200 wins.