The unusual ending sent everyone scrambling for answers, wondering exactly what happened to help the Jets get yet another goose-bumps victory in a season built on them.

The Jets’ 30-27 victory over New England today at MetLife Stadium, which ended their five-game losing streak to the Patriots, will be remembered for the strange happenings in overtime, when two Patriots backups, defensive tackle Chris Jones and offensive guard Will Svitek, combined to make a dubious piece of NFL history.

With 7:17 left in overtime, Jones pushed Svitek forward, into Damon Harrison, as they tried to block Nick Folk’s 56-yard field goal. They did not block it, and Folk missed wide left on an attempt that would have tied his career long. As the ball tumbled through the air, Folk saw umpire Tony Michalek fling his yellow penalty flag. Because of where the flag flew from, Folk knew it was on the Patriots (5-2). He wondered if it might’ve been for too many men, or for climbing onto a teammate’s back to get closer to the kick.

Instead, it was a new rule this season: Teammates cannot push each other into the offensive formation on a field goal. Jones said he decided on his own, before the snap, to push Svitek "to get that extra little oomph in the middle." The existence of the new rule slipped Jones’ mind. He was initially confused when he saw the flag, as were the Jets. Rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, on one knee, prayed it wasn’t on his team.

The uncertainty can be excused, since this penalty had never been called in an NFL game — fitting of a Jets season that is unfolding unlike few, if any, before it.

After Jones’ 15-yard penalty and three Jets plays set up Folk’s 42-yard, game-winning field goal, the Jets (4-3) have won three games on last-second or overtime kicks. They won another on a 69-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass by rookie quarterback Geno Smith. He is now the only quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger with four game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in the first seven games of his career.

This absurd season, which began with a Tampa Bay late-hit penalty gifting the Jets a manageable game-winning field goal and 18-17 victory, hits its midpoint next week with a trip to Cincinnati. Lo and behold, the Jets, expected to be a hot mess, are in the thick of the wild-card race, and still very much alive in the AFC East.

"Every season has a crossroads," said right guard Willie Colon. "This was that type of game. We had to make a decision. If we wanted a chance at the division, we had to have this one."

For as weirdly as today concluded, much that preceded Jones’ pushing penalty was typical for these Jets. Smith was brutal, and then brilliant. The Jets’ defense, especially its line, looked elite. This, it seems, is the Jets’ formula in 2013 — nail-gnawing and ulcer-inducing as it is for their coaches, fans and opposing quarterbacks.

In the first quarter, Smith threw his 11th interception of the season. Rutgers product Logan Ryan returned it 79 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 New England lead. But in the third quarter, the Jets regained the lead, 24-21, after Smith scrambled for a first down on third-and-14, and then, two plays later, scooted in for an 8-yard touchdown. The touchdown had the MetLife Stadium crowd chanting Smith’s first name, and turned Smith’s position coach, David Lee, into a prophet.

"He told Geno before the game, ‘You know what son, you’re going to have to make two plays with your legs that are going to win the game for us,’â" Jets coach Rex Ryan said.

While the veracity of this tidy anecdote is unclear, the Jets’ defensive dominance today was plenty tangible. They held the Patriots to 295 yards on offense and 1-of-12 on third downs. They limited quarterback Tom Brady to 11-of-28 passing in the second half. They sacked him four times, including thrice after halftime. Antonio Allen returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown on the half’s second play, to cut the Patriots’ lead to 21-17.

"It’s hard blocking us for four quarters," said Richardson. "I’m just throwing that out there."

After Brady completed 11-of-18 passes in the first half, thriving in his up-tempo, no-huddle offense, the Jets’ coaches told their players they would do a better job of getting the plays in quicker. Because the calls came in more rapidly in the second half, "it was just easier for us to get lined up," linebacker Calvin Pace said.

The Jets had a chance to win 27-24 in regulation. Brady took over at his own 8 with 2:10 left. He drove far enough for New England to convert a 44-yard field goal, forcing overtime, but no farther, as the Jets stiffened against one of the sport’s all-time clutch players.

It was the usual for this defense, on a day that ended unusually — and with the Jets getting another shot at winning back-to-back games for the first time all year, well aware that they cannot truly become contenders unless they stack victories.

"We’re not trying to have a decent season," Richardson said. "We’re trying to make the playoffs."