Defense’s condition in end? Critical

The defense may have seen streaks of positive play but being on the losing end of a 16-9 result left the players shaking their heads.

In their first full game without middle linebacker Jerod Mayo, who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in the season opener against Buffalo, the Patriots shifted players around and made adjustments. While they only gave up one touchdown, with a struggling offense, each point allowed became critical.

When asked about the play of the defense, coach Bill Belichick responded “We didn’t do a good enough job.’’

Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez completed 14 of 22 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown to improve to 2-0. On the Jets’ first play, Patriots lineman Mike Wright smashed into Sanchez, forcing a fumble the Jets recovered at their 3-yard line. The drive ended with a punt.

It was the first of two Sanchez sacks, but for the most part he didn’t face much pressure and orchestrated two crucial plays on the opening drive of the second half to help the Jets score the only touchdown of the game.

On a late first-half drive, the Jets started on their 33 and eventually reached the New England 15 before the Patriots defense clamped down. A short pass to Chansi Stuckey on second and 9 resulted in a loss of 4 yards as Jonathan Wilhite and Tully Banta-Cain converged. On the next play, Banta-Cain and Gary Guyton teamed up to stop Leon Washington on the left side, forcing the Jets to settle for Jay Feely’s 33-yard field goal. The kick completed a 10-play, 52-yard drive that burned 5:31 off the clock and cut New England’s lead to 6-3.

But that drive was a source of encouragement for Jets coach Rex Ryan, who said his team’s ability to move the ball meant it was finding a rhythm.

Ryan’s feeling was confirmed on the first play of the third quarter. Sanchez faked the handoff and launched a pass deep to Jerricho Cotchery, who took off before Guyton caught him at the New England 11.

“We just wanted to go up and we expected them to take away something outside so we snuck in on them inside,’’ Cotchery said. “It was a great call and a great throw by Mark. From then on, we just kept them off balance.’’

Two plays later, Sanchez completed a 9-yard pass to the right to Dustin Keller for the touchdown.

The Jets were 1 for 3 in the red zone, but three field goals accounted for the rest of the points, as the Patriots were able to do just enough to keep them out of the end zone. But that didn’t leave the visitors feeling satisfied.

“When you lose, you critique everything,’’ Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas said. “We didn’t win so we didn’t play well enough. They scored more points than we did, and that’s what our defense is here for. We didn’t get that done. It’s hard to have fun when you’re not out there making the plays you’re supposed to make.’’

Among the changes for the Patriots without Mayo, who is expected to be out 6-8 weeks, was Guyton wearing the green dot, which meant he relayed calls from the coaches to his teammates.

“I felt comfortable; it went pretty well,’’ Guyton said. “We have to come in and keep working on what we’re doing.’’

With the ups and downs of the defense, Guyton said, “We all got things we could work on. Some big plays were made and there are some things we still need to work on.’’

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.