It's the same old song for Jets

An out-of-synch effort vs. Patriots

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The result was a familiar one for the New York Jets. They played the New England Patriots and lost, 19-10, just as they have nine of the last 10 times the teams have met.

Maybe this one should have been different since the Patriots were playing without Tom Brady and the Jets were playing with Brett Favre, the Jets' surprising acquisition during training camp.

It wasn't, but the Jets, to a man, felt it should have been different.

"This is a game we could have won," said Favre, who completed 18 of 26 passes for 181 yards, one touchdown, and one critical interception in his first game as a Jet in Giants Stadium after he forced a trade from the Green Bay Packers.

The feeling in the losing locker room was that the Jets rarely took advantage of the few opportunities the Patriots gave them.

"This was a very disappointing loss," said Jets coach Eric Mangini. "We had some excellent opportunities throughout the course of the game to make a lot of plays and do a lot of very positive things. We weren't able to execute on those opportunities consistently.

"I take nothing away from New England. They are a good football team. They're well-coached and well-disciplined. Every victory, you're going to have to earn it against them."

There were five situations one could point to that if the Jets had executed better, the result might have been different.

1. On the first drive of the game, the Jets moved the ball to where they had a first-and-10 at the Patriots' 19; Thomas Jones gained 2 yards on a run up the middle; Favre threw incomplete to Jerricho Cotchery in the left corner of the end zone; and then was forced to scramble on third down and could only gain 4 yards. The drive came up empty when Jay Feely, substituting for injured kicker Mike Nugent, missed a 31-yard field goal attempt wide right.

2. The Jets had a first-and-goal at the Patriots' 3 in the second quarter. Jones ran right for 1 yard, then up the middle for another yard before he was stopped by Rodney Harrison. On third down, Jones ran left but was smothered by a hard-charging Richard Seymour for a 2-yard loss. At least this time, Feely hit the 21-yard field goal.

Both Mangini and Favre defended the play calling.

"We don't think it's a function of being conservative or not being conservative," said Mangini. "It's really a function of what we felt was going to be the most successful at that point. We had been running the ball very well."

"I would have liked to have scored," said Favre, with the emphasis on the word score. "I don't second-guess Schotty's [offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer] calls one bit."

3. In the third quarter on third and 22, Favre connected with Chansi Stuckey for 28 yards and a first down at the Jets' 39 and followed that with a pass to Cotchery for a 22-yard gain as Cotchery made a falling catch over Patriots cornerback Deltha O'Neal for what would have been a first down at the Patriots' 39. Cotchery, however, was called for offensive pass interference.

Two plays later, on second and 25, Favre was intercepted by Brandon Meriweather, which led to Sammy Morris's 1-yard touchdown run.

That Jets possession was a disaster as they were called for holding (Damien Woody) and an illegal forward pass (Favre was past the line of scrimmage on a completion).

"I just underthrew him," said Favre of the interception. "I saw the guy. Maybe I got a little greedy, I could have dumped it in the flat . . . I just made a bad throw."

4. The Jets finally broke through in the fourth quarter, putting together a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Favre finding a wide-open Stuckey for a 2-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 16-10. The Jets defense then failed to get the ball back, allowing the Patriots to hold the ball for five minutes in an 11-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Stephen Gostkowski hitting a 27-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 19-10 lead. The drive was aided by two penalties, 12 men on the field and roughing the passer on Calvin Pace.

"I was disappointed," said Jets safety Kerry Rhodes, who had four tackles, including two for losses. "The offense scored and cut it to 6. It was a chance for us to get back right away and give them a chance to go and score, but we couldn't get it done. In those situations, we have to make those kinds of plays."

5. Bad luck played a part in the second quarter when Pace tipped a Matt Cassel pass, but Kevin Faulk snagged the wobbly football and got a first down. That drive ended in another Gostkowski field goal.

"I looked at the pictures on the sidelines and there were some opportunities for some big plays," said Favre. "That falls back on me. We didn't score enough points, obviously. Someone is blamed on it, and I think that goes to our whole offense. There were plays to be made, and it just wasn't made."

Joe Sullivan can be reached at jtsullivan@globe.com.