It wasn't pretty, but the New England Patriots made enough winning plays to emerge victorious in their Week 6 matchup against the rival New York Jets on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

Drake Maye gave another strong performance with three passing touchdowns. He also has gone back-to-back games with zero turnovers. His top wide receiver, A.J. Brown, struggled to make an impact in his return from a high ankle sprain.

The defense mostly played well, particularly on third and fourth down.

Let's recap the good, the bad and the ugly from the Patriots' 26-19 win with a new version of Stock Watch.

STOCK UP

Drake Maye, QB

What a turnaround from the 24-year-old quarterback. After his first three games of the season, he had just one touchdown pass. In his last three, he has 10. It's no coincidence that the Patriots are unbeaten in that span.

He's been especially effective lately with the deep ball. Per NextGen Stats, he hit on two of his three deep attempts in Sunday's win over the Jets. (He would've hit on all three had AJ Brown held onto the football on a go-route down the right sideline.)

After completing just 33 percent of his deep attempts in Weeks 1-3 for zero touchdowns and four picks, he's hit on 50 percent of his deep targets for four touchdowns and no picks in Weeks 4-6.

Roster depth

Mike Vrabel made it very clear after a preseason matchup with the Browns: He didn't love his team's depth. On Sunday, that depth looked plenty capable.

Walter Rouse and Matt Pryor -- both of whom spent training camp elsewhere -- filled in for injured starters Alijah Vera-Tucker and Ben Brown at guard, helping pave the way for New England's four-minute offense to grind out the clock at the end of the game. Ditto for rookie Caleb Lomu, who entered for Morgan Moses, and had to block star rookie pass-rusher David Bailey. As a group, the offensive line allowed zero sacks.

Running back Corey Kiner, meanwhile, was the go-to guy in the four-minute offense and ran with reckless abandon, picking up 57 yards on 11 carries. Backup wideout Kyle Williams also showed up in this one, reeling in a first-down catch in a third-and-10 situation with the Patriots clinging to a 17-13 lead.

On the defensive side, reserve corner Charles Woods -- playing extensively once again with Carlton Davis out injured -- came up with a fourth-quarter pick in the win.

Not a bad day for those who make up the back end of the depth charts in Foxboro.

Robert Spillane, LB

Spillane came up with a big-time run-stuff on fourth down early in the second quarter, standing up 235-pound back Braelon Allen to create a turnover on downs. He also helped create a sack opportunity for Elijah Ponder when he cleared space for the second-year outside linebacker to get to Geno Smith.

In all, Spillane had five tackles, one tackle for a loss, one quarterback hit, and a fourth-down stop that highlighted how the Patriots defense stepped up in critical situations. The Jets ended up going 3-for-12 on third and fourth down in the game.

STOCK DOWN

A.J. Brown, WR

Mike Vrabel said his No. 1 receiver "could've probably made a few more plays" in his return to action off a high-ankle sprain that kept him on injured reserve for four weeks. There were five targets that looked like potential catches for Brown that ended up hitting the turf -- including one deep attempt that went through his hands, one end-zone target, and one third down that bounced off his hands before falling incomplete. He also had a game-ending onside kick bounce of his hands that was recovered by teammate Pop Douglas.

Brown finished the day with three catches on 10 targets, but vowed to be better moving forward.

“My timing was off," Brown said. "I’m much better than what I put on display today. There’s no excuses. I’ll be better... I expect myself to make each one of those plays. I'm more than capable of making those catches.”

TreVeyon Henderson, RB

One of two Patriots fumbles on Sunday was ripped out of Henderson's hands. It was a big one, given that the Patriots had just allowed a 48-yard score to rookie Omar Cooper Jr.

Drake Maye made one of his best throws of the day soon after the Jets touchdown, giving the Patriots offense a little life; his roll-out throw as he was getting hit out of bounds found Pop Douglas on the sideline for a first down.

But instead of building some momentum, Henderson fumbled on the next snap. Five plays later, the Jets kicked a field goal to draw to within four points of the Patriots in the third quarter.

Henderson was able to play through a high-ankle sprain suffered last week against the Raiders, and he seemed to finish the game relatively healthy. But it'll be interesting to see how much run he gets on Thursday night against the Bears after Kiner's strong performance.

Andy Borregales, K

The second-year kicker missed his third attempt of the season on Sunday when he failed to make a point-after try early in the fourth quarter. It was his first PAT miss of the season. He missed field goals in back-to-back weeks against the Steelers and Jags in Weeks 2 and 3.