Despite multiple declarations that they were proud to be a run-first team, the Patriots passed on seven of their first nine plays in Thursday’s ugly loss to the New York Jets.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt regretted that approach.

In a video conference Friday morning, Van Pelt said he should have leaned more on New England’s productive run game.

“We were really just trying to marry the run game with the run actions, and it didn’t go the way we wanted to,” Van Pelt said. “And then by the time you get back out there, you’re down a couple scores and then you have to kind of abandon the run, unfortunately, at that point. But definitely in hindsight, looking back, we probably should have flipped that and run it more early to set it up later. You earn the right to run those actions when you’re running the ball well, and it didn’t go our way last night.”

Those first seven Patriots pass plays resulted in four completions for 16 yards and one sack, with Jacoby Brissett facing near-constant pressure behind a banged-up offensive line. New England punted on its first two possessions. By the time it got the ball a third time, the Jets were up 14-0. They wound up cruising to a 24-3 victory that was even more lopsided than the score suggested.

After averaging 37.5 carries and 177.5 rushing yards in their first two games, the Patriots rushed just 15 times for 78 yards Thursday night. Overall, they averaged a meager 2.9 yards per play and scored points on just one of their nine drives.

“We thought that we earned the right to be able to push the ball down the field,” Van Pelt explained. “We’re trying to find more explosives in our pass game, and that comes through the run and the run action. That was the thought process going in. Again, in hindsight, I’d probably run it a little bit more early. We (had) five runs, eight passes that were non-third down in the first half, so not a lot of opportunities.

“That’s the biggest thing that stands out. We have to be able to convert on third down to move the chains and give us more chances to have those opportunities.”

PACKERS: Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

Love also was listed as questionable last Friday on Green Bay’s injury report, but he was downgraded to doubtful the following day and ended up missing the Packers’ 16-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Love hadn’t practiced at all in the week leading up to the Colts game, but he’s been practicing on a limited basis each of the last three days.

The victory over the Colts was the first game Love has missed since taking over as Green Bay’s starting quarterback last year. He injured his left medial collateral ligament Sept. 6 during the final series of the Packers’ 34-29 season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil.

RAVENS: Baltimore signed running back Justice Hill to a two-year extension Friday, keeping a reliable player and popular teammate under contract through the 2026 NFL season.

The extension is worth $6 million, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms were not disclosed.

Hill, who turns 27 in November, is backing up Derrick Henry in his fifth season with Baltimore since making his debut in 2019 as a fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma State. Injuries last year made Hill the starter, and he ran for 387 yards and three touchdowns while also making 28 catches in the passing game.

GIANTS: Second-year wide receiver Jalin Hyatt has denied asking the New York Giants to trade him if they were not going to use him.

Speaking Friday after the team’s final practice for Sunday’s game in Cleveland, Hyatt said he was surprised by an ESPN report that discussed his lack of playing time in the first two games, and included a multi-sourced report that said during a practice late this summer he said that if the Giants weren’t going to use him, they should trade him.

A speedy third-round draft pick out of Tennessee in 2023, Hyatt said he has never talked to general manager Joe Schoen about a trade, either recently or during the summer. He said his relationship with coach Brian Daboll is good. He also did not recall talking at a practice this summer about a deal.

“I didn’t say that. I don’t know where that came from, but that’s false,” Hyatt said.

CHARGERS: Quarterback Justin Herbert is dealing with a high-ankle sprain and is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 26-year-old did not practice Friday after he was a limited participant Thursday. He had a thick layer of athletic tape wrapped over his right cleat on the field Friday as he worked with trainers on exercises off to the side.

Herbert, who suffered the injury last Sunday during a win over the Carolina Panthers, is “doing everything he can” to play Sunday, Coach Jim Harbaugh said, but the quarterback could not commit to whether he expected to play.

RAIDERS: Star defensive end Maxx Crosby will play Sunday in the home opener against the Panthers despite an ankle injury, Coach Antonio Pierce said.

Crosby hurt his ankle on the second-to-last play in Sunday’s win against the Ravens was still on the field for the final play but was limping badly. He was listed as a limited practice participant Wednesday and Thursday and was wearing a brace on a heavily bandaged left ankle, though he had no padding on the area in the locker room.

VIKINGS: The good news for the Vikings is that star receiver Justin Jefferson will not have an injury designation against the Houston Texans. The bad news is that on the official injury report, the Vikings ruled receiver Jordan Addison, edge rusher Dallas Turner and linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. out for Sunday’s home game.