EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- One month shy of the five-year anniversary of the Butt Fumble, the New York Jets lost another big fumble against the New England Patriots. This time, it wasn't a slapstick routine -- unless you count the actions of the officiating crew and the replay-watching bigwigs in the NFL office. This was a phantom fumble, and it cost the Jets dearly in their 24-17 loss on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

But unlike the Mark Sanchez faux pas from Thanksgiving night 2012, the Jets had no reason to be embarrassed after this defeat, which snapped a three-game winning streak. They sent a loud message to the rest of the league:

They're no joke.

"People see we're a legitimate team, like we always felt we were," said tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the center of the touchdown-turned-fumble-turned-touchback controversy.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins and the Jets would not like the final verdict following the tight end's apparent touchdown that was overturned in the fourth quarter. Al Bello/Getty Images

If Seferian-Jenkins' touchdown had been upheld by replay, the Jets would have trailed by three points with less than nine minutes to play. We'll never know if that would've been enough to upset the Patriots (4-2) in their battle for sole possession of first place in the AFC East, but the Jets pushed the defending Super Bowl champions to the 60th minute -- and that's progress.

"We had so many expectations, coming in to shock the world today," cornerback Morris Claiborne said. "I feel like a lot of people will understand that we’re not going to lay down. We’re going to come out and fight you."

For 20 minutes, the Jets did just about everything right. QB Josh McCown was outplaying Tom Brady in their Grey(beard) Cup, Seferian-Jenkins was out-Gronking Rob Gronkowski, and Todd Bowles was outcoaching Bill Belichick. Tanking never looked so good.

In the end, the Jets experienced a painfully familiar lesson: It takes more than a positive stretch or two to take down the Patriots, who scored 24 straight points after trailing 14-0. Still, the Jets (3-3) showed they can hang with a heavyweight. They had the ball at the Patriots' 43-yard line in the final minute, trying desperately to score the tying touchdown. There was no miracle finish, no sole possession of first place, but no one was laughing at them when it was over.

The oft-discussed gap between the Jets and Patriots isn't as wide as everybody thought.

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"When you're talking about the margin or gap, I don't know what you're scaling that off of, because I feel like we can go against any team in this league," wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said.

They got robbed by the officials on the non-touchdown, but here's the thing about these Jets: They didn't quit. Unlike last year's outfit, which laid down in a 41-3 debacle in New England, this group played with tenacity, if not efficiency. They came within a few plays of pulling off the upset, but isn't that always the case against the Patriots?

McCown threw a killer interception late in the second quarter, cornerback Buster Skrine dropped a would-be interception, and the defense committed two costly penalties. The Jets' 14-0 second-quarter lead should've been larger. Then Brady started being Brady, connecting with Gronkowski for two touchdowns. Both came against rookie safety Jamal Adams, who struggled for the second week in a row.

"They have a guy, No. 12, who figures out a lot," Adams said of Brady. "He dissected us."

It was too much Brady and too much Gronkowski, as the Jets' pass rush failed to register a sack. Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson failed to generate an inside push, allowing Brady to overcome a slow start. The Jets have only seven sacks in six games, none by the defensive line.

Still, the Jets did a lot of good things in the game. McCown (31-of-47, 354 yards) threw two early touchdowns against New England's decimated secondary, but the Patriots adjusted and the Jets went into a deep freeze until the fourth quarter. Despite the hiccups, they had a chance for a major upset. That's more than anyone could have envisioned a few weeks ago, when the tanking talk was loudest.