Thursday night was the only scheduled primetime game for the New England Patriots this season and it’s clear they didn’t belong in the spotlight.

The Patriots put up a lackluster performance as the New York Jets crushed New England 24-3 at MetLife Stadium.

Here are seven lessons we can learn from the Patriots’ loss, which dropped them to 1-2 in the young season:

Patriots need lessons in tackling
Tackling had been a strength of New England’s defense in the first two games, but not against the Jets. Patriots defenders routinely missed opportunities to bring down Jets playmakers, allowing them to turn modest gains into big plays.

New England’s poor tackling was notable during New York’s first scoring drive of the opening quarter. Raekwon McMillan had a point-blank shot in the backfield on Jets running back Braelon Allen on the first play of the series, but instead of McMillan taking him down for a loss, Allen flew past the linebacker for an 11-yard gain. Allen Lazard made a fool of Patriots cornerback Alex Austin when the Jets wideout took a quick pass from Aaron Rodgers, made a little move past Austin and ran into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. Jonathan Jones also had a poor tackling performance.

Patriots Need New Defensive Car With Bentley In The Shop
The absence of Ja’Whaun Bentley cannot be understated in New England’s poor defense. Bentley is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks , and it’s clear the Patriots have missed him.

Jahlani Tavai and McMillan stepped up to fill the void, and while they were the Patriots’ top two tacklers, they were outmatched. The Jets tore them apart when they played outside of their roles. Tavai and McMillan are nice complementary pieces, but not players to center a defense around. McMillan had made just one start in three seasons prior to this year. Tavai was also called for a stupid unnecessary roughness penalty on New York’s first scoring drive of the game.

Patriots offensive line resembles matadors
The Patriots’ offensive line continued to be a sieve, and it didn’t help that the unit wasn’t at 100 percent. Caedan Wallace got his first start at left tackle with Vederian Lowe out, and the rookie got a rude welcome from the Jets’ front seven. Wallace was burned for a sack on Jacoby Brissett in the first half and was penalized for holding, which canceled a pass to Austin Hooper that would have put the Patriots inside the New York 5-yard line midway through the third quarter.

Brissett took a beating as he was sacked five times and hit 10 times in total. Who knows how much longer Brissett can withstand this kind of punishment and New England’s offense won’t flourish even a little bit until the offensive line is repaired.

Patriots Bring Out the Best in Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers didn’t exactly look like a four-time MVP in his first two games back from an Achilles injury, but the Patriots’ defense helped turn that around.

Rodgers was surgical, picking apart the New England defense time and time again, while the Patriots had no answer. Rodgers completed 27 of 35 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns. The 40-year-old quarterback found the matchups he wanted and took advantage of them, most notably finding tight end Tyler Conklin five times for 93 yards. Rodgers was also strong off-platform throwing and was crucial for the Jets, helping them cover 10 of 15 third downs to keep drives alive.

Patriots give Drake Maye a chance
Drake Maye got his first NFL action when he replaced Brissett with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter and the game spinning out of control. It was a bit of a confusing decision to bring Maye in, especially given the issues with New England’s offensive line.

Regardless, Maye threw the ball on his first snap and nearly got intercepted. He took a good shot off a Jets defender on a 1-yard scramble a few plays later and completed his first pass to Antonio Gibson on a screen, but it didn’t gain any yards. Maye ended up completing 4-for-8 passes for 22 yards and also had two rushes for 12 yards. He was also sacked twice.

DeMario Douglas Gets What He Wants
DeMario Douglas was non-existent in the Patriots’ loss to the Seahawks, as he went untargeted. The Patriots did a better job of keeping him with the Jets, as the diminutive 5-foot-8 slot receiver showed what he can bring to the offense.

Douglas had seven receptions on nine targets for 69 yards and also had one rush that went for nine yards. His longest reception went for 22 yards. It’s a performance that Douglas can certainly build on and he showed that he continues to see more targets because he feels like he’s the only receiver who can create one-on-one separation.

Patriots offense needs new recipe
The Patriots’ run-heavy offense never got going, as evidenced by the fact that Rhamondre Stevenson carried the ball just six times for 23 yards in the game.

At halftime, the Patriots had just four first downs and 40 yards, compared to the Jets’ 17 first downs and 252 yards. New England’s big-play potential just isn’t there, and the Patriots can’t sustain long drives, making it a grind to put points on the scoreboard. The Patriots averaged just 2.9 yards per play, which, as you might have guessed, paled in comparison to the Jets’ 5.7 yards per play.