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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Bill Belichick exchanged another cold handshake with Eric Mangini in the middle of the muddy field.

The Patriots coach certainly had no reason to embrace the protege who angered him by leaving for the New York Jets. After all, the Jets had just won 17-14 on a rainy Sunday, tightening the AFC East race that once loomed as a runaway for New England.

Scouts Inc.'s take ...

The Jets went on the road and beat the division-leading Patriots with a good mixture of hard-nosed running and the short passing game. The Jets offensive line did a nice job in the trenches vs. the third-ranked defense (against the run) of New England. The Jets were able to pressure Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (above) into a subpar performance. New York mixed eight man fronts to slow down the previously impressive New England ground attack.

"I have a lot of great memories from here," Mangini said. "I'd like to add this to it."

Belichick has refused to refer to the Jets coach by name since Mangini left after serving five years as his defensive backs coach and last season as defensive coordinator, helping the Patriots win three Super Bowl titles. Their first midfield meeting after the Patriots won in New York this season wasn't a study in warmth either.

Then again, why should any of the Patriots be happy after their 57-game streak without consecutive losses ended? The record of 60 games was set by San Francisco from 1995-99.

Jets quarterback Chad Pennington also had a hand in the previous losing streak when he led New York to a 30-17 win in December 2002 -- one week after the Patriots lost to Tennessee.

"Two in a row. I can't remember the last time we did it," Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "We've got to get back on the winning road if we want to be AFC champions."

Preseason favorites to win their fourth straight division title, the Patriots (6-3) lead the Jets (5-4) by just one game.

"To lose today, you don't forget about the playoffs, but as far as the division race, it's would have been basically over," said Jets linebacker Matt Chatham, who spent the last six seasons with the Patriots. "We know that we've at least kept ourselves alive."

Elias Says

The Jets' 17-14 win over the Patriots was New England's second consecutive loss -- and ended a streak of 57 consecutive regular-season games in which the Patriots hadn't lost two in a row. That was the longest streak in the NFL since San Francisco went 60 consecutive regular-season games without a two-game losing streak from 1995 to 1999. The all-time NFL record (despite what you may have heard elsewhere) is 81 consecutive games without losing two straight, set by the Packers from 1938 to 1945. • For more Elias Says, Click here

Relying on short gains and long drives, the Jets built enough of a lead to repel a late comeback and end a seven-game losing streak to the Patriots.

"We knew we had to have precise execution and, in the meantime, play a great defense," because of the muddy field and slippery ball, Pennington said.

Mangini clearly learned something from Belichick that his players picked up, from the pressure the Jets put on Tom Brady to their two takeaways.

"When you make plays against the pressure, it tends to ease it off a little bit," Brady said, "but we just didn't make enough plays."

Pennington did, despite the rain and mist that dictated that both teams rely on runs and short passes.

"The field was a mess," said Kevan Barlow, who scored on a 2-yard run for the Jets. "One play, I almost took it to the house, but the mud got me."

Pennington led two long scoring drives, one covering 16 plays that led to Barlow's touchdown and a 7-3 lead. The other was 15-play drive that was capped by Mike Nugent's 34-yard field goal and gave the Jets a 10-6 lead with 1:46 left in the third quarter.

The Jets made it 17-6 on Pennington's 22-yard pass to Jerricho Cotchery with 4:45 left after an interception by Erik Coleman.

The Patriots then drove 69 yards in 31 seconds to draw within 17-14 on Brady's 15-yard scoring pass to Reche Caldwell on a pass that was tipped by New York's Kerry Rhodes. Brady and Caldwell then combined on a two-point conversion.

After a punt, the Patriots took over at their 11 with 1:08 and no timeouts left. New England reached the Jets 45 before Brady spiked the ball with 9 seconds left. But he was sacked by Shaun Ellis on the final play. Brady completed 25 of 37 passes for 255 yards.

"We just couldn't stop them on defense," Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown said. "And when we did stop them, we had to use all our timeouts."

Pennington was 22-for-33 for 168, an average of 7.6 yards per completion. Barlow gained 75 yards on 17 carries. The Jets already have surpassed last season's victory total of four.

Following a 27-20 loss to Indianapolis last Sunday night in which Brady threw four interceptions, the Patriots fell to 2-3 at home and 4-1 in the division.

They led 3-0 on Stephen Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal 4 seconds into the second quarter before Barlow put the Jets in front on an 81-yard drive lasting 9:12. Gostkowski kicked a 21-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 7-6 with 4 seconds left in the half.

The Patriots played without both starting safeties -- Rodney Harrison with a broken shoulder blade and Eugene Wilson with a hamstring injury -- who were major contributors to the defense Mangini coached last season.

Now, though, he often refers to New England as "the other place," and Belichick has continually avoided giving his former assistant any praise.

"We all have our own reasons for why we wanted to beat New England," Pennington said. "Eric has his reasons, I have my reasons and we have ours as a team."

Game notes

Corey Dillon's 50-yard run was his longest in three years with the Patriots. ... Brady is 9-2 as a starter against the Jets. ... The Jets won despite being outgained 377-278 in total yards.