Jets hold off Patriots for overtime win

BOSTON (Reuters) - The New York Jets held off division rivals the New England Patriots 34-31 in a dramatic overtime victory to take control of the AFC East on Thursday.

Jay Feely kicked a 34-yard field goal to hold off a late rally by the Patriots and give the Jets first place in the division.

"Believe me, that was not easy," New York quarterback Brett Favre told reporters after helping his team break a four-game losing streak against the Patriots. "It means a lot (to beat the Patriots); I hope it does a lot for us."

In a big-game atmosphere, veteran Favre led the Jets to their fourth straight win, justifying the team's decision to trade for the recently-retired quarterback before the season.

On the first possession of overtime, Favre converted two third-down passes and drove his team 64 yards downfield into field-goal range.

Favre completed 26-of-33 passes for 258 yards, two scores and no interceptions.

"This is what I came back for," he said.

Patriots (6-4) quarterback Matt Cassell came up big for his team yet again as he has most of the year filling in for the injured Tom Brady.

Cassell threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another 62 yards.

He sent the game into overtime with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss along the right sideline with just one second remaining in regulation, tying the contest at 31-31 following the extra point.

Officials had to review the play as Moss just narrowly got both feet in bounds while holding on to the bullet throw.

"It was a great play, you have to give Moss and Cassell a ton of credit," said Jets coach Eric Mangini.

The play crowned New England's comeback after they had fallen behind 24-6 in the second quarter.

Cassel found Jabar Gaffney for a 19-yard score in the second, and Benjamin Watson for a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter to close to 24-21.

After Stephen Gostkowski tied the game with a 47-yard field goal, Favre drove New York 67 yards for the go-ahead score, a one-yard run by Thomas Jones to make it 31-24.

"I think anytime you can come back from a 24-6 deficit it's a building block," Cassell said. "Obviously you don't want to lose, and hopefully it's not something we have to do again, but I think it shows great character for the team."

(Reporting by Jahmal Corner; Editing by Ed Osmond))