Josh McCown is the latest quarterback to carve up Patriots’ terrible defense

Through five games, the Patriots had yet to hold an opposing quarterback to fewer than 300 passing yards. Journeyman Jets passer Josh McCown was supposed to be the guy to break that streak — instead, he’s breaking New England.

McCown carved up the Patriots’ defense in the first half of their AFC East showdown, getting his team out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter before New England stormed back in a 24-17 victory. Despite the loss, McCown managed to throw for 354 yards to keep the Pats’ ignominious streak alive.

That left the 38-year-old QB, who has played for eight teams in his 15-year career, outplaying future Hall of Famer Tom Brady at MetLife Stadium. Brady had 257 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception as the Patriots worked to fight their way back into this game.

New England’s inability to get its offense off the field fueled New York’s early dominance. The Jets came into Sunday’s game ranked 23rd in the league in third-down conversions (36.8 percent). On their very first drive, they converted third-and-8, third-and-10, third-and-6, and third-and-goal from the 1-yard line. One three-and-out later, a third-and-5 conversion led to their second touchdown drive of the game.

For the game, the Jets had converted the majority (9-of-17) of their third downs.

The biggest beneficiary of McCown’s revival was Jeremy Kerley. The former New York releasee, who was also jettisoned by the Lions and 49ers the past two seasons, was responsible for two big plays that gave the Jets a 14-0 lead. The first was a 30-yard fingertip catch in coverage that turned 3rd-and-6 into 1st-and-goal. The second was a 31-yard strike Kerley high-stepped into the end zone.

Kerley came into Week 6 with 132 yards receiving. In 18 minutes Sunday, he had 61. That’s what going up against the Patriots’ defense can do for a role-player wideout.

The Patriots adjusted, however, giving hope these plucky visitors can escape a showdown with the Jets with a road win. Malcolm Butler intercepted McCown with under a minute remaining to end a potential New York scoring drive and give New England new life. From there, Brady led the Pats 63 yards in 26 seconds to reset the game at 14-14 — a drive highlighted by a 42-yard bomb to new favorite target Brandin Cooks.

The New England defense adopted a bend-don’t-break philosophy in the second half to pull away in a narrow victory. The Patriots got a little help from a questionable reversal that turned a Jets touchdown into a touchback when Austin Seferian-Jenkins was ruled to have fumbled through the back of the end zone. New York had the opportunity to tie the game with a last-minute drive, but McCown’s 4th-and-16 prayer fell to the turf to push the Patriots to the top of the AFC East with a 4-2 record.