Maye has career-high 5 TDs passes in Patriots' 42-10 rout of Jets. Now they wait on AFC East title

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Drake Maye and the New England Patriots took care of their end of things in their quest for the AFC East title.

And they didn't even need four quarters.

Maye threw a career-high five touchdown passes before getting the rest of the game off in the third quarter, New England scored a TD on its first six drives and the Patriots finished the regular season undefeated on the road by dominating the New York Jets 42-10 on Sunday.

“It comes down to unfinished business,” Maye said. “You want to go 8-0 on the road. That would be something we thought would be pretty cool. In this league, it’s hard to win on the road and we accomplished that today.”

Rhamondre Stevenson had a TD run and catch for the Patriots (13-3), who led 35-3 at halftime and moved closer to winning the AFC East title for the first time since 2019. They'll do so if Buffalo, which has won the last five division crowns, loses or ties against Philadelphia later in the day.

“Winning the division, we’ve got to win out to win the division,” Maye said. “That was our mindset. If that means the No. 1 seed is at play, that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Maye was 19 of 21 for 256 yards and a 157.0 quarterback rating with TD tosses to Stevenson, Stefon Diggs, Austin Hooper, Hunter Henry and Efton Chism III before being lifted by coach Mike Vrabel for Joshua Dobbs with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

Maye joined Tom Brady (11 times) and Drew Bledsoe (twice) as the only New England quarterbacks to reach 4,000 yards passing in a season.

“They don’t give me a vote,” Vrabel said of the league MVP buzz around Maye, “but there is nobody else we want as our quarterback.”

Dobbs' first drive ended the Patriots' touchdown run, with New England settling for a field goal on its seventh possession — but Andy Borregales clanked the 41-yard attempt off the right upright.

It didn't matter much by then, though, as the Patriots cruised to their eighth 13-win season in team history.

In a road game that looked and sounded more like a Patriots home game with all the red, white and blue-clad fans who made the trek down to MetLife Stadium, New England finished with no regular-season road losses for the third time in franchise history. Only San Francisco (1984, 1989 and 1990) has also gone undefeated on the road in three seasons since 1970.

“Coming in here and going 8-0 on the road, that’s a big thing for us as a young team,” cornerback Christian Gonzalez said.

Meanwhile, it was another embarrassing showing in the home finale for the lowly Jets (3-13), who have lost four in a row and have two straight seasons with multiple losing streaks of at least four games. New York became the fifth team in NFL history to lose four straight by 23 or more points in one season, and the first since the 1972 Patriots.

“Highly, highly disappointed in the way that we came out,” coach Aaron Glenn said. “Today was probably the one time I feel like our effort wasn’t as good as I want it to be.”

Undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook made his third consecutive start and went 19 of 33 for 152 yards and an interception.

Breece Hall had 111 yards rushing, including a 59-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter, to give him his first 1,000-yard season.

Maye and the Patriots sliced through the Jets' porous defense on their opening drive, capping it with a 2-yard TD catch by Hooper.

After a three-and-out by the Jets, New England again got into the end zone when Stevenson ran it in after a questionable pass interference call on Brandon Stephens in the end zone put the ball on the 1.

The Patriots took advantage of an interception by Jaylinn Hawkins and scored on their third straight possession, this time on Maye's 22-yard TD pass to Stevenson to make it 21-0.

New England made it 4 for 4 on TD drives on their next possession with Maye hitting Diggs on a screen on fourth down for a 3-yard touchdown.

After a roughing-the-passer call on third down kept the Patriots' next drive alive, Maye found a wide-open Henry for a 13-yard score.

New England stayed perfect on TD drives on the first possession of the second half with Maye finding a diving Chism for a 10-yard score that made it 42-3.

The Jets tried to find a spark with two fake punts on the same drive to open the second half.

On fourth-and-2 from the Jets 43, punter Austin McNamara took the snap and tossed a 3-yard pass to Malachi Moore for a first down.

Four plays later on fourth-and-6 from the 50, McNamara again lined up to punt but Isaiah Davis took the direct snap and was immediately dropped for a 3-yard loss and a turnover on downs.

Patriots: FB Jack Westover injured an ankle in the fourth quarter.

Jets: Hall left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury, but said he was OK after the game. ... CB Qwan'tez Stiggers injured a knee in the second half. ... Davis was evaluated for a concussion in the fourth quarter. ... LG John Simpson hurt a knee in the fourth quarter.

Patriots: Host Miami next weekend.

Jets: Finish the season on the road in Buffalo next weekend.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) dives for a fumble against the New England Patriots during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson (38) celebrates a touchdown against the New York Jets with teammate Kyle Williams (18) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry scores a touchdown against the New York Jets during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) celebrates after a touchdown against the New York Jets with teammate Demario Douglas (3) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry, left, celebrates after a touchdown against the New York Jets with teammate Drake Maye (10) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo 's Prime Minister Albin Kurti appeared set for another term in office after his party on Sunday convincingly won an early parliamentary election in the Balkan country, preliminary results showed.

The Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party won nearly 50% of the ballots, far ahead of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21%, and the Democratic League of Kosovo with nearly 14%, the state election, authorities said after nearly all the ballots were counted.

“Congratulations on the biggest victory in the history of the country,” a cheerful Kurti said after results were announced. “Now we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

The snap ballot on Sunday was scheduled after the Self-Determination party failed to form a government despite also winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election, which led to a monthslong political deadlock.

It was not immediately clear whether the Self-Determination party has won 61 seats in the 120-member parliament to be able to rule alone. Kurti said a new parliament and a government will be formed as soon as possible.

“We don’t have time to lose and must move forward together as quickly as possible,” he said.

Hundreds of ruling party supporters gathered outside the party offices in Pristina in celebration, chanting Kurti's name.

The previous postelection stalemate marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.

Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking concern over the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people. Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani’s mandate expires in early April.

After voting Sunday, Kurti urged Kosovo’s 1.9 million voters to turn out in large numbers to grant “more legitimacy for our institutions.”

Turnout was at around 44%, according to the state election authorities.

According to Kosovo’s election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties.

Opposition parties have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021. Kurti also briefly served as prime minister in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lumir Abdixhiku from the Democratic League of Kosovo earlier on Sunday urged voters to “move away from the gloom, the deadlock and the division that has accompanied us for these years.”

A former political prisoner during Serbia’s rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.

Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.

Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or “we will end up in an abyss.”

“Young people no longer want to live here,” he said.

Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.

Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.

Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.

A man folds his ballot prior to voting in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A couple cast their votes in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Voters fill their ballots behind voting booths for early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Kosovo's acting prime minister and leader of VeteVendosje political party Albin Kurti casts his ballot in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Supporters of Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista prepare to go at a polling station and cast their ballots in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter arrives at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter prepares her ballot at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

People walk past a giant banner of the leader of VV (Selfdetermination) political party Albin Kurti, in the capital Pristina on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

People waiting in the iluminated bus station with banners of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) leader Lumir Abdixhiku in capital Pristina on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)