No double-lateral magic by the opponents. No Jason McCourty Jerseys 2019 , the New England Patriots couldn’t point to anything fluky in a 17-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.Not after a game in which they were penalized 14 times for 106 yardsOne in which they punted on five straight possessions and managed all of three points in three trips to the red zone.One in which the Steelers finally figured out a way to slow down Rob Gronkowski and keep Tom Brady from carving them up, something he’d done with remarkable ease throughout the years.The Patriots (9-5) are still in comfortable position to win their 10th straight AFC East title. Yet rarely during their dynasty have they looked so vulnerable so late in the season. New England dropped its second straight and fell to 3-5 away from Gillette Stadium, meaning it will almost certainly have to go on the road at least once and possibly twice to reach another Super Bowl.Not that one seemed particularly close at hand during another anemic showing in their road white uniforms. The Patriots have lost five games in the regular season for the first time since 2009, which also happened to be the last time they finished under .500 on the road (2-6). A week ago it was Miami’s dramatic 69-yard series of laterals on the final snap. This time around, the issues were far more basic.“We obviously haven’t played very well on the road,” Brady said. “Obviously what we are doing isn’t good enough. It’s just a cumulative thing. We’re out here as a team trying to compete. When you’re on the road you have to play well. Some things are a little bit more challenging on the road. We have to embrace those things. And we just haven’t done a great job on that.”Brady finished 25 of 36 for 279 yards to become the fourth player in NFL history to top 70,000 career yards passing, but had trouble getting the ball downfield after a busted coverage left Chris Hogan open for a 63-yard score on New England’s third offensive snap. Gronkowski, who came in averaging 111 yards receiving in six games against Pittsburgh, caught two passes for 21 yards.The Patriots also had trouble finishing drives. Each of their last three possessions ended up in the red zone, but the only points they managed were a 33-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal in the third quarter that trimmed Pittsburgh’s lead to 14-10.“Just not converting, I think that’s all it is,” running back James White said. “Not executing the way we want to. We have to be better.”All the penalties didn’t help. The missteps came in a wide variety of ways, from pass interference to false starts to offensive and defensive holding White Adrian Clayborn Jerseys , mistakes that made momentum difficult to come by. The most damaging came in the final moments.New England had second-and-5 at the Pittsburgh 11 with 37 seconds to go needing a touchdown. Right guard Shaq Mason was flagged for holding, pushing the ball back to the 21. Three Brady incompletions — the last a pass intended for Julian Edelman that was broken up by safety Morgan Burnett — and it was over.“Obviously, there is holding on every play in the NFL,” Brady said. “That’s what we do, we hold. It’s just whether you get called or not. If they are calling it, then you just have to do a little bit less of it.”Edelman, who wore cleats honoring the 11 people killed in a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October, pointed the finger at himself for some of New England’s issues.“We definitely have to be a little more poised,” Edelman said. “That starts with me. I had two penalties. It put us in a hole. We had a lot of penalties and you can’t have that against a good team. Plain and simple. That’s a good football team.”Just one that had not played like it lately. The Steelers came in having lost three straight and winless against New England since 2011. Yet they never trailed and had little trouble moving the ball on the ground with rookie running back Jaylen Samuels, who ran for a season-high 142 yards in his second NFL start.The Patriots have allowed at least 104 yards in each of their five losses.“They did a good job of running the ball,” safety Duron Harmon said. “That’s something obviously the last few weeks we haven’t been as well against … but I know (the defensive linemen) are working their tails off to try and stop it and they’ll continue to work their tails off until we do stop them. I’m confident in the group we have.”It’s a swagger that comes from having come through so many times, swagger that may be lacking a bit this time around.“Every year is different, every team is different,” Gronkowski said. “Every year we just have to stick together. We have to keep on grinding. We have to keep on working and we’ve got to keep moving forward.” The struggling and short-handed Jets returned to work Monday Adrian Clayborn Jerseys 2019 , still without a win but with their locker room remaining united.At least, for now."This isn't the time to point fingers," defensive lineman Leonard Williams insisted during a conference call.Maybe not, but with so many issues swirling around the team, it's certainly conceivable that the meeting rooms could soon become tension-filled sessions of blame passing. That's why several veteran leaders stood up in front of their teammates and implored them to stick together."They said they've been on teams that were definitely a lot worse than this," Williams said. "We have a lot of talent. We're 0-4 right now, but the season isn't over and we still have a lot to fight for."Center Ryan Kalil, who came out of retirement in August to join the Jets, was one of those who spoke up. Williams said his words, in particular, stuck with him."We just have to stay levelheaded," Williams said of Kalil's message. "Not get too high when we win and not get too down when we lose and not be on a roller-coaster or anything like that. He's been in this league a long time, so hearing it from a guy like that meant a lot."Williams wouldn't go into detail as to whether it was a players-only meeting or who else spoke, but it's clear the Jets are concerned about how things are going.New York is off to its worst start in 16 years — matching the 2003 team under Herman Edwards that also opened 0-4 and came in between playoff seasons for the team. The Jets take on Dallas at home on Sunday and are staring at their first 0-5 start since 1996.Yep White Jeremy Hill Jerseys , the 1-15 season under Rich Kotite.The return of Sam Darnold from his bout with mononucleosis remains on hold, with the quarterback scheduled to have tests Tuesday to determine if he'll be medically cleared to play.If so, coach Adam Gase said Darnold will start. If not, it will be Luke Falk under center again.The Jets were optimistic last week that Darnold would get the OK and gave him all the starting snaps in practice Wednesday and Thursday. But test results last Thursday night showed the swelling of his spleen had not yet dissipated enough, so Falk took the snaps with the starters Friday ahead of his second straight start. Falk struggled along with the rest of the offense in the 31-6 loss to Philadelphia. He went 15 of 26 for 120 yards with two interceptions, and was sacked nine times."We took our turns, whether it was the quarterback not getting the ball out on time, we busted a route, the O-line not using protection the right way," Gase said. "There were a couple calls where no one was open. When I say that, it's what they ran on defense wasn't ideal for what they called. It wasn't pretty. It was a bad performance on the offensive side."WHAT'S WORKINGThe defense. Gregg Williams' group has been a bit overshadowed by the ineptitude of the offense, but the Jets have been respectable — especially considering how little help the defense has gotten from the other side of the ball.New York ranks 13th in overall defense and seventh against the run. That comes after mostly solid performances against Tom Brady and the Patriots two weeks ago and Carson Wentz and the Eagles on Sunday.That's also despite not having inside linebacker C.J. Mosley since he injured his groin in the third quarter of the opener. The pass rush needs help, though, with only six sacks through four games. The return of outside linebacker Brandon Copeland from a four-game suspension could be a boost.WHAT NEEDS HELPWell Jeremy Hill Jerseys 2019 , this could be a mighty lengthy list.But ask anyone around the Jets what needs to get better — and fast — and the overwhelming answer is an easy one:Darnold's spleen.STOCK UPDemaryius Thomas. It wasn't an eye-popping performance, by any means, and the veteran wide receiver had an embarrassing whiff on a would-be long reception. But, Thomas made it back to the field after missing most of the last two games after injuring his hamstring early in Week 2 against Cleveland. He finished with four catches for a team-leading 47 yards, a sign the 31-year-old Thomas might be able to make an impact.STOCK DOWNTy Montgomery. The running back/wide receiver was expected to be a versatile complement to Le'Veon Bell in Gase's offense, but he has been barely used. Montgomery has only nine carries for 31 yards and three catches for 15 yards in an offense that desperately needs help. It has been a puzzling start for Montgomery, who was signed to a one-year deal in March.INJUREDDefensive end Henry Anderson has a shoulder injury that Gase said could be "week to week" and will depend a lot upon whether Anderson can play through the pain and discomfort.Gase was uncertain whether Mosley would return to practice Wednesday. "We're just not sure how close we are," Gase said.KEY NUMBER233 — That's how many yards of total offense the Jets have in their last two games — combined. With Falk starting, they had 105 against New England two weeks ago and 128 at Philadelphia.NEXT STEPSTuesday will be important for the Jets, with the latest round of tests helping determine Darnold's availability for the game against Dallas."It's probably more than just Sam getting out there," Gase said. "We've got a lot of other things to clean up. Sam's able to hide things sometimes for us, where if we make a mistake, he covers it up."I think we just need to do a better job as a group making sure we're all 11 on the same page."