Did That Game Really Just Happen Or Was I In A Food Coma?

I think we all knew the Jets were a mess but that still couldn't have prepared us for what transpired tonight at MetLife Stadium as the Patriots embarrassed the home team 49-19 in a game that wasn't nearly that close. Bill Belichick celebrated his 200th career win (including playoffs) by probably ending the Rex Ryan/Mike Tannenbaum era in New York. Look for major changes to be made there in the offseason.

New England (8-3, 4-2) won its fifth consecutive game thanks to an explosion in the second quarter that included three touchdowns (3!) in 52 seconds. Believe it or not, it was scoreless after one quarter before New York (4-7, 2-4 home) decided to self-destruct to an unbelievable level.

Lighting up the scoreboard in the past four games has been a common occurrence for the Pats. They've put up 190 combined points which is the most in a four-game span since the Rams in 1950 (208 points). Tom Brady (18 of 28, 323 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs) was nearly perfect again; he's had 14 TDs and 0 INTs in their last five games. New England's 108 points in the last two blowout victories is the third highest total in NFL history.

For the second week in a row, the Patriots scored touchdowns in all three phases: offense, defense and special teams. Wes Welker's (7 catches, 71 yards) 3-yard TD catch got the feast started in the second quarter. That was followed by Shane Vereen taking a swing pass 83 yards for a score, Steve Gregory (2 fumble recoveries, INT) scooped up a fumble 32 yards and took it to the house while Julian Edelman returned a fumble on a kick return 22 yards for the third touchdown in under a minute.

Speaking of Edelman, for good measure he added a 56-yard touchdown grab which put New England up 35-0 in the second quarter. Their 35-point quarter tied a franchise record. It also gave him four touchdowns in the last two games. The only downside is that he got crushed in the third quarter by LaRon Landry and it looked like he sustained a concussion.

New York couldn't get out of its own way and seeing Mark Sanchez (26 of 36, 301 yards, TD, INT) comically run into the back of his own lineman (in the most Jets play of all-time) and fumble then having Joe McKnight cough it up on the next play was something out of Football Follies. All that was missing was some Benny Hill music.

Credit to Rex Ryan and his team though as they scored 12 straight points to make it interesting. Haha yeah right. Nick Folk's 32-yard field goal with two seconds left in the first half broke the shutout. A chop block in the end zone led to a safety for the Jets and Bilal Powell had a 4-yard TD run in the third quarter.

New England went back to trolling New York as Brady had a 1-yard quarterback sneak and Stevan Ridley (21 carries, 97 yards) was rewarded for a solid night with a 9-yard touchdown run.

For some reason, the Jets dressed Tim Tebow even though after the game he admitted that he has two broken ribs. That meant all the Tebow talk during the broadcast and chants by their miserable fans were pointless, he wasn't coming in no matter what. Third-string quarterback Greg McElroy must feel good about his work situation.

Dustin Keller had a 1-yard touchdown catch with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter for the final margin. New England leads the NFL with 32 takeaways, they improved to 7-1 against the AFC and 4-0 against AFC East foes-they are done with the Bills and Jets. Jerod Mayo had 11 tackles (8 solo), a sack and tackle for loss while Dont'a Hightower had four tackles (3 solo), a sack and tackle for loss.

It was a very physical game and especially considering the short week of preparation, the Patriots were outstanding. Yes, the Jets helped them out with most of their five turnovers but New England also made the plays. Like last season, they are showing the knack for getting turnovers on defense which is a great sign. The No. 3 team in the AFC will get this weekend off and then next week they'll begin work on the Dolphins (4-6, hosting Seattle on Sunday). The Patriots travel to Miami on Sunday, December 2 (1 p.m., CBS) to face a team that started out looking so promising but they have lost their last three.

UPDATE 11/23: Kyle Arrington was fined $23,000 today for his helmet to helmet hit on Colts quarterback Andrew Luck on Sunday. No word yet on any fines from last night's game vs. the Jets. Also, Greg Salas was claimed off waivers by the Eagles.

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Patriots Almost Suffer Another Crushing Loss, Recover To Beat Jets 29-26 In Overtime

The Patriots have pretty much left me speechless with their inability when it comes to closing out games this season. Today they were up 23-13 heading into the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium against the Jets who came in with statistically the third worst offense in the NFL.

Wouldn't you know it, New England (4-3, 2-1 home) nearly blew it as New York (3-4, 1-2 away) rallied for 13 straight points. Thankfully for once, the Pats were able to drive for the tying score and then won it with another field goal in overtime as their 29-26 win put them in sole possession of first place in the AFC (L)East. Buffalo lost earlier today and Miami had a bye week.

I suppose there are two ways to look at this win if you are a Patriots fan. 1) If they struggled so much against a team as bumbling as the Jets, what will happen when they play a legitimate playoff contender? 2) The AFC is awful and other than Houston (who got blown out last week at home by the Packers), who else is there to fear? Don't get me wrong, I don't know if I've ever felt less satisfied after a victory but bigger picture, I hope that maybe this game will serve as some sort of rallying point for a team that was going nowhere fast.

Perhaps most disheartening for New England was that they made Mark Sanchez (28 of 41, 328 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) look like a quality NFL quarterback. Of course, the clinching play was a strip-sack of Sanchez and recovery by Rob Ninkovich (6 tackles, 4 solo, 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hits). Nobody better illustrates the up and down nature of this team like Devin McCourty (5 solo tackles): the much maligned cornerback/safety had a 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He also coughed up the ball on a kickoff late in the fourth quarter that led to New York's go-ahead field goal.

Tom Brady (26 of 42, 259 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) wasn't at his best but he was able to lead New England to the tying field goal-a 43-yard kick by Stephen Gostkowski-as regulation expired. Likewise, after the Patriots received the kickoff to begin overtime, he led them down the field for what turned out to be the game-winner: a 48-yard kick by the suddenly clutch Gostkowski.

Both quarterbacks spread it around to eight receivers. Jeremy Kerley set a career-high with seven catches for 120 yards while Dustin Keller added seven catches for 93 yards. Rob Gronkowski (6 catches, 78 yards) had one of his best games of the season with two touchdowns while the Jets neutralized Wes Welker (6 catches, 66 yards) and Aaron Hernandez (5 catches, 54 yards). Brandon Lloyd's first dose of the Patriots-Jets rivalry was not a memorable one as he had one catch for six yards. I shudder to think what he would do if Darrelle Revis had played.

New England's rushing attack didn't seem to miss Brandon Bolden that much as Stevan Ridley (65 yards), Shane Vereen (49 yards) and Danny Woodhead (17) combined for 131 rushing yards in the win. After blowing up against the Colts last weekend, Shonn Greene (54 yards rushing, TD) was back to his usual level.

New York scored a touchdown on its opening drive, a sign of things to come in this nail-biter. Greene ran it in from a yard out. McCourty's kick return to paydirt answered that and Gronk's first TD put New England up 14-7 after the first quarter. It was a diving grab from 17 yards out, proof of why Brady needs to target Gronkowski more in the red zone than he has so far this season.

In the most Jets play of all-time, Sanchez fumbled a handoff to Greene when they were backed up near their own end zone. Rather than have Vince Wilfork (7 tackles, 5 solo) or another Patriot recover it, Sanchez kicked it out of the back of the end zone for a safety. It was New England's first two-pointer since Week 1 in 2006 (miss you Ty Warren).

Nick Folk showed that he has a bigger leg than we knew by drilling a 54-yard field goal with two seconds left in the first half. New York only trailed 16-10 at halftime in one of the strangest halves of football in recent memory.

New England got a red zone stop so the Jets had to settle for a 21-yard goal from Folk to cut it to 16-13 early third quarter. Gronkowski's 2-yard touchdown catch put the Patriots up 10 (23-13) and I think naively that's when we thought they would pull away.

In basically a four-minute span late in the fourth quarter, Keller caught a 7-yard touchdown (Sanchez's best throw of the day) then Folk hit identical 43-yard field goals. I had little faith that Gostkowski would make not one vital kick but two. I'm happy to say he proved many people wrong and maybe that will get him over that mental hurdle.

The Patriots linebacker crew of Jerod Mayo (11 tackles, 10 solo), Brandon Spikes (10 tackles, 7 solo) and Dont'a Hightower (7 solo tackles, sack) all had big games. Kyle Arrington added seven solo tackles and rookie Alfonzo Dennard recorded the first interception of his NFL career.

Next Sunday, the Patriots play the Rams (3-4) in London (1:00 p.m., CBS) at Wembley Stadium. I won't get into how the NFL should just give up on trying to market the league in the UK and simply hope that the Patriots don't keep getting sent there. St. Louis lost 30-20 to Green Bay today at home, their second loss in a row. They present a somewhat similar challenge that the Seahawks did. They have a very solid defense and their offense remains a question mark led by inconsistent quarterback Sam Bradford. After losing to Seattle and Arizona, New England can ill-afford another loss to an NFC West squad they should beat.

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Patriots Take A Time Machine Back To The Glory Days, Demolish Jets 37-16

There wasn't a Jets-Patriots game in recent memory that had such a lack of hype. Riding a two-game losing streak, looking extremely vulnerable and fatally flawed in so many ways, the Pats were becoming as irrelevant as I can ever remember in the last decade.

Well thankfully for us, a funny thing happened on the way to morphing into also-rans of the AFC East and the NFL, New England (6-3) showed their still the team to beat in the division with a 37-16 win tonight at MetLife Stadium on Sunday Night Football.

With the loss, the Jets (5-4) not only fall to second-place but they also drop the season series (2-0) to the Patriots which could be a factor in playoff tiebreakers.

Tom Brady (26 of 39, 329 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs) and head coach Bill Belichick became the winningest QB/Head Coach duo in NFL history with their 117th win (sorry Dan Marino/Don Shula).

Another interesting stat that was highlighted on NBC's typically superb broadcast: New England hasn't lost three straight games since 2002-the fourth longest streak in NFL history.

The way that this one played one was shocking since New England's secondary suffered another injury (separated shoulder to Devin McCourty) with guys like Sterling Moore, Philip Adams, Antwaun Molden, Ross Ventrone (he exists!), Sergio Brown and James Ihedigbo all getting playing time. Oh and Patrick Chung didn't even suit up.

The reason the Patriots defense played so well was mostly because of two incredible performances: Andre Carter set a team-record with 4.5 sacks while Rob Ninkovich had two interceptions including his first career interception.

Did I mention that Jeff Tarpinian got his first career start (at linebacker) along with Moore (at safety)? Yup, this is real life.

It is amazing though what a pass rush can do. The Patriots had 15 sacks in their first eight games of 2011; they got a third of that total tonight alone. Mark Anderson had half a sack and he added some pressure from the defensive end position as well. Of course, facing Mark Sanchez (20 of 39, 306 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) and the plodding Jets offense is a big help too. Still, New York had been playing great coming into this pivotal matchup, winners of its last three games.

I can't believe it took me this long to mention him but Rob Gronkowski (8 catches, 113 yards, 2 TDs) was the best skill position player on the field. With Wes Welker (6 catches, 46 yards) held in check by the incomparable Darrelle Revis, Gronk stepped up as he usually does.

Hell, even Chad Johnson (2 catches, 65 yards) made a couple plays, including a 53-yard catch on a blown coverage by Kyle Wilson. Deion Branch (5 catches, 58 yards) made it four consecutive games with a score against the J E T S.

Santonio Holmes (6 catches, 93 yards) was the only Jets receiver or running back to really stand out. Shonn Greene (13 carries, 61 yards) had a decent game but as the deficit piled up, New York was forced to abandon the run-something they're loathe to do.

New England lead 6-0 after the first quarter thanks to a pair of field goals (50-yard and 36-yard) by Stephen Gostkowski. Nick Folk missed a 24-yard chip shot on New York's opening drive, an omen of ineptitude to come by his mouthy teammates.

It looked like a replay of last weekend's loss to the Giants as the Patriots defense slowly started to crumble. It wasn't there fault that New York got on the board by forcing an intentional grounding by Brady in the end zone, which was a safety.

Sanchez gave the Jets their only lead of the game as he took a quarterback draw two yards for a touchdown. New York led 9-6 with 1:20 left in the first half but they left Brady and Co. too much time on the clock.

Looking much more precise than he did earlier in the half (when he could have had three interceptions), Brady hit Gronkowski for a momentum turning 18-yard touchdown pass with eight seconds left in the half.

Unlike the Giants game or any other contest this season, New England's defense got better in the second half while the offense worked in conjunction with it. What a concept!

After a 27-yard field goal by Gostkowski in the third quarter (thanks to Niko Koutouvides' fumble recovery on a muffed punt), Ninkovich made his first pick of Sanchez on what Cris Collinsworth termed a "triple tip." Somewhere Bibi Jones drools to death. Speaking of everyone's favorite porn star, her boy Gronk caught a 5-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive to give New England a commanding 23-9 lead. A two score lead against Sanchez and the Jets is analogous to a 30-point lead against most normal teams.

Plaxico Burress gave temporarily hope to Fireman Ed and his many friends (haha yeah right) with a 7-yard touchdown catch to begin the fourth quarter.

From there, Branch (8-yard TD) and Ninkovich (12-yard interception return) clinched it with a pair of scores in the span of three plays.

What this win gives Patriots fans more than anything is hope which is something that has been lacking with this team for longer than we care to admit. The Bills (5-4) got embarrassed today by the Cowboys, 44-7, so they're quickly coming back to Earth. Most promising, as Al Michaels pointed out late in the broadcast, the Pats have statistically the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL.

We all know that nothing really matters until this team proves it can win in the postseason. Making the playoffs is still basically a forgone conclusion. When the 2011 playoffs roll around, it will be four years since the last Patriots playoff win.

The road to respectability for this defense continues next week in another primetime game: Monday night at Gillette vs. the Kansas City Chiefs (4-5) and Matt Cassel.

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When did the New England Patriots turn into the Indianapolis Colts?

If the NFL playoffs have taught us anything, especially this season, being a top seed or favorite doesn't mean anything these days. Last week, the New Orleans Saints lost to the Seattle Seahawks, the Indianapolis Colts lost to the New York Jets and on Saturday, the Atlanta Falcons got creamed by the Green Bay Packers.

Those were all trumped by the epic no-show, choke job pulled off yesterday by the New England Patriots who lost 28-21 to the Jets in the AFC Divisional Round at Gillette Stadium.

New York took the rubber game of the season series with New England and advances to its second straight AFC Championship game, on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Everything was falling the Patriots' way before the loss; all they had to do was win two games at home (against teams they had already beaten this season) and then top an NFC team that they would be favored over and they'd have their fourth Super Bowl title of the decade.

However, unbeknownest to myself and most of the fan base, we have become the Colts or San Diego Chargers, team built to rack up mostly meaningless regular season games and then turtle in the playoffs.

It's time to face facts: the Patriots haven't won a playoff game since the 2007 AFC Championship. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have lost their last three playoff games and each has been in horrific fashion: losing the perfect season to the New York Giants in Super Bowl 42, getting crushed by the Baltimore Ravens last season at Gillette and then yesterday, losing to your most bitter rival.

While we're dealing with some real talk, can we also admit that Rex Ryan despite all his ridiculousness (foot fetish videos, diahrea of the mouth, etc.) can coach a football team and his method works. All week leading up to the game, it was endless trash talk from the Jets and you had to hope that the Pats would let their play on the field do the talking. Who knows if it had any effect but clearly, there's more than one way (Belichick's no fun model) to win in this NFL.

Patriots honks are the most delusional fan base around here so it'll be interesting to see if this makes them admit the truth, that Belichick and Brady aren't perfect. What is the excuse for yesterday? There is none not that it will necessarily stop them from whining.

I hate the Jets but I have to admire the way they play loose and back up their big talk. They still have to win two games to capture a Super Bowl but this was the biggest win for them in a long, long time.

I want to be really bitter about this defeat but what can you say if you're a Patriots fan? They didn't get screwed by the refs (a loser's excuse) or a random play (tuck rule), they simply didn't execute as well as New York and they seemed rattled from the beginning of the miserable game until the end.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (16 for 25, 194 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) played better than Patriots icon Tom Brady (29 for 45, 299 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) and that was supposed to be the one area where New England had the biggest advantage.

All day, the Patriots receivers were covered by the Jets' outstanding secondary or simply thrown off their routes. Whatever the case, Brady had to wait too long and getting sacked five times didn't help his confidence either.

Shayne Graham had the only points of the first quarter, a 34-yard field goal. Brady threw a terrible pick, on a screen pass but New England's defense held the Jets to a field goal attempt which Nick Folk promptly missed.

New York got on the board in the second quarter when LaDainian Tomlinson scored on a 7-yard pass from Sanchez.

Braylon Edwards gave the Jets a 14-3 lead with 33 seconds left in the half when he fought through tackle attempts by Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty and safety Brandon Meriweather to reach the end zone.

That late score was the biggest one of the game and it came as a result of a bizarre call which will go down in Patriots' lore as one of the worst in history. Apparently, Patrick Chung called for a direct snap on a punt. The problem was he fumbled it then couldn't get a first down and that gave New York prime field position deep in New England territory. Why would you ever make that choice in that spot? Mystifying.

Alge Crumpler got the Patriots back into the game with a 2-yard touchdown catch from Brady late in the third quarter, the frame's only points. Sammy Morris took a direct snap on the two-point conversion and ran it in to cut it to 14-11 Jets.

In the biggest quarter of the season, New York made the plays. Santonio Holmes, one of the most clutch players in the NFL, made an absurd 7-yard touchdown catch and Shonn Greene had a 16-yard touchdown run when the Jets were running out the clock.

Shayne Graham's field goal in between those New York touchdowns had made it 21-14 but there was only 1:57 left. Deion Branch (5 catches, 59 yards) caught one last touchdown with 24 seconds left but New England couldn't recover an onside kick (it couldn't get the one after Graham's kick either) and the upset was official.

This one will take a while to get over. The Patriots overachieved all season with a collection of young players and no-names that combined to go 14-2 in the regular season. Still, when it mattered not enough of them showed up to beat a team they knew very well. And I hate to be a realist but the window on Belichick and particularly Brady closes a little more since they'll both be a year older when the team gets back together for training camp in August.

Be honest homers: How many times did you have to pinch yourself last night?

In a million years, I never would have dreamed that the biggest game of the regular season last night would turn out the way it did.

With likely an AFC East title on the line and a No. 1 spot in the AFC playoffs hanging in the balance, the New England Patriots absolutely destroyed the New York Jets, 45-3 at cold Gillette Stadium on Tedy Bruschi night.

Just like last year where the Jets (9-3) won the first game of the series and then the Patriots (10-2) won the one later in the season that really counted (which help them win the AFC East), Bill Belichick's squad showed up when it mattered.

Nothing changes more than the NFL from week to week so I'm not going to make too big a deal of this result (taking a cue from my beloved Patriots) since after all, it was only Week 13.

That being said, hot damn. This was the first complete game the Pats have played all season and possibly the best performance (in the regular season) that I've ever seen from them given the stakes.

Tom Brady continued to play at an MVP level, coming through with his second straight game of four touchdowns and no interceptions. He was 21 of 29 for 326 yards.

Mark Sanchez looked like the second-year quarterback that he is, throwing three interceptions and going 17 of 33 for 164 yards.

More shocking than that was how easily the Patriots' picked apart the Jets' excellent defense and conversely, how New England's bad defense completely flummoxed Sanchez and his head coach Rex Ryan.

Not to pile on here (but if not now, when?) but Rex looked way over his last night from the start. He challenged a spot on fourth and 1 (lost it), got the first down but eventually had erratic kicker Nick Folk try a 53-yard field goal in swirling winds. How do you think that went? Not so well friends.

Other than Brady, would you guess who was the biggest star for New England? Danny Woodhead, the pint-sized ex-Jet. He had four catches for 104 yards and two carries for 11 yards. Wes Welker (7 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD) and Deion Branch (3 catches, 64 yards, TD) also shredded the Jets' secondary despite Brady never throwing in the direction of Darrelle Revis.

The Patriots received the opening kickoff and moved down the field until stalling outside the Jets' red zone. Shayne Graham's 41-yard kick gave the Pats a 3-0 lead.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis (18 carries, 72 yards) increased it to 10-0 with a 1-yard run later in the first quarter.

When Branch had a 25-yard catch and run for a score, making it 17-0 New England late in the first quarter, it was clear the Jets were rattled (and they never recovered from there).

Folk hit a 39-yard field goal early in the second quarter but that turned out to be New York's only points in the miserable night for Gang Green.

Brandon Tate hauled in a 4-yard touchdown from Brady in the second quarter and strangely enough, Ryan didn't challenge it even though Tate looked to only get one foot and one arm down. 24-3 Patriots.

After halftime, the Jets moved the ball down field and looked like they might make it competitive but Sanchez threw a bad pick on the goal-line to rookie linebacker (and amateur porn star) Brandon Spikes.

Welker's 18-yard touchdown in the third quarter (where he hauled a Jets defender the last five yards or so) was proof that this might be the same old big talking but no substance Jets.

The blowout was complete in the fourth quarter with Aaron Hernandez (3 catches, 51 yards) adding a 1-yard touchdown catch and Green-Ellis notched another touchdown, this time from five yards out.

Rookie cornerback Devin McCourty had his sixth interception as this one started to get ugly and James Sanders wrapped it up (sound familiar Peyton) with one last pick.

Part of the reason you have to move on fast from this one is that the Patriots have two very good NFC teams up next: at Chicago on Sunday and hosting the Packers a week from Sunday night.

Not to get all footie pajamas on you but that's why you have to feel good with Belichick and Brady on our side. They're still the best in the business and there's no debate.

Jets repeat as Week 2 Super Bowl champions

There is no sport that clings to cliches like football, perhaps because so many of its players, coaches and announcers have suffered so many head injuries but I digress.

One of my current favorites that I truly believe is that the team with more urgency usually wins. Therefore yesterday's 28-14 by the Jets over the Patriots at the New Meadowlands was not a surprise at all.

New York (1-1) could simply not fall to 0-2 (when the Patriots and Dolphins would be 2-0) and New England (1-1) played over their heads in their Week 1 laugher vs. the Bengals.

The biggest surprise was how much Mark Sanchez (220 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) badly outplayed Tom Brady (248 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions). This wasn't a passing of the torch (there I go) but it was a sign that Sanchez isn't as hopeless as Hard Knocks and Week 1 vs. the Ravens made us believe.

The two hallmarks of the forgettable 2009 Patriots were that they were awful on the road (2-6; one of those in London) and they couldn't protect leads in the second half, forcing them to crumble.

Here we go again. True to form, the Pats started out on fire in the first quarter and went up 7-0 on a six-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Wes Welker (6 catches, 38 yards).

New England controlled the ball for the first half but couldn't go up further when Stephen Gostkowski missed a 37-yard field goal (he's 1 for 4 this season).

Braylon Edwards (5 catches, 45 yards) tied it up with a 10-yard touchdown grab from Sanchez.

Randy Moss (2 catches, 38 yards) helped New England go up 14-7 with an amazing 34-yard one-handed touchdown catch. It was the 150th catch of his NFL career, the fourth skill position player to reach that mark but it became a footnote when he was held without a catch in the second half.

That was shocking since Darrelle Revis went down with a hamstring injury on Moss' touchdown. Antonio Cromartie (4 tackles, interception) did a great job against Moss in the second half.

Nick Folk hit a 49-yard kick to end the first half and give the Jets a manageable 14-10 deficit.

From there, it was all Jets all the time. They outscored New England 18-0 in the second half as the Patriots were left to one play (throwing it deep to Moss) which never worked.

Folk added a 36-yard field goal, cutting it to 14-13 in the third quarter then Jerricho Cotchery put the Jets ahead for good with a two-yard touchdown catch. Edwards' two-point conversion catch put New York up 21-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

Dustin Keller (7 catches, 115 yards) capped the win with a 1-yard touchdown catch.

Trading Laurence Maroney was fine with me but I assumed that the Pats running game wouldn't be so pathetic (52 yards).

Rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez had a great game, catching six passes for 101 yards.

Too often, New England's young corners (Darius Butler and Devin McCourty) were beaten downfield against the Jets' bigger receivers.

Tully Banta-Cain had eight solo tackles and a sack and rookie Brandon Spikes added nine tackles (five solo). Gerard Warren had two sacks in the loss.

I'm sure the Patriots will beat up on the hopeless Buffalo Bills (0-2) next Sunday afternoon at Gillette and everything will be right in the world but there has to be some progress if they ever hope to beat any good teams and/or win on the road.

Thank God for the Jets

After a week of seemingly every person in the world weighing in on Bill Belichick's absurd fourth down call in the loss to the Colts, it was refreshing to see the Patriots stomp the Jets 31-14 at Gillette Stadium yesterday.

No team in the NFL has as much false confidence as New York (4-6) and their fat clown of a head coach, Rex Ryan. The fact that the Jets had beaten the Patriots (7-3) 16-9 back in Week 2 was more fuel to the proverbial fire.

This game was not nearly as close as the score would indicate since Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez threw four interceptions and lost a fumble. It was 24-7 at halftime and New York cut it to 10 points (24-14) in the third quarter but the outcome wasn't in question after the first half.

Wes Welker, who didn't play in the Week 2 meeting, was his usual unstoppable self. He set a career-high with 15 catches for 192 yards and he added an 11-yard end around for 203 total yards. There is no discussion, he is the best slot receiver in the NFL.

Darrelle Revis is undoubtedly one of if not the best cornerback in the league and for the second time this season, he neutralized Randy Moss. Straight Cash Homie was limited to five catches for 34 yards. He did manage a 4-yard touchdown catch on a quick slant in the first quarter but his biggest contribution yesterday was as a decoy. For instance on one play, three Jets defenders went to Moss leaving Welker wide open for a 43-yard catch.

Tom Brady had his fifth straight 300-yard game, passing for 310 yards and a touchdown. Laurence Maroney continued his fraudulent streak of five straight games with a touchdown as he scored twice and ran for 77 yards. Just in case you were getting a little confidence in Maroney, he fumbled again to remind you of his goal-line fumble against Indianapolis.

The Patriots defense got consistent pressure on Sanchez and as a result, he threw three terrible picks. New England cornerback Leigh Bodden had three interceptions including one he took back 53 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Tully Banta-Cain was the other standout defensively for the Pats as he had two sacks and forced a fumble.

The Jets caught a huge break late in the first half as they blocked a punt and returned it four yards for a touchdown. Sanchez and the offense finally moved in the ball on the first drive of the second half as he found Jerricho Cotchery with a 29-yard strike.

New England's offense scuffled in the second half and couldn't really move the ball (outside of Welker) but Maroney put it away with a 1-yard run with five minutes left in the game.

The Saints (10-0) blew out the Bucs yesterday which sets up a juicy Monday night game next week at the Superdome against the Patriots. It will be a good measuring stick for both teams and also an indicator if the NFC should be taken seriously or not.

With the Bengals and Steelers both losing yesterday and the Chargers winning, four teams in the AFC find themselves 7-3 as they try to get the No. 2 spot (and the all-important bye) in the playoffs.

At least Fireman Ed is happy

The New York Jets are legit.

With Week 2 of the 2009 NFL season not yet complete, its best to steer clear of ESPN-style bone-headed grand statements. Still, after a 16-9 win over the New England Patriots yesterday at the Meadowlands, I think we know where the biggest challenger in the AFC East lies.

The Patriots (1-1) played well in the first half, especially defensively but they couldn't cash in on any of their three tries in the red zone. The 9-3 halftime lead for New England should have been more but it wasn't.

Stephen Gostkowski was the Pats' offensive player of the game and that's never a good thing. He hit field goals from 45 yards, 25 yards and 29 yards.

Jay Feely, the Jets' kicker, hit a 33-yard kick in the first half.

After looking terrible against our average (on a good day) defense in the first half, Jets rookie quarterback Vinnie Chase (aka Mark Sanchez) completed a 45-yard pass to Jerricho Cotchery (4 catches, 87 yards) on the first play of the second half.

A few plays later, Sanchez found tight end Dustin Keller in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown completion. Feely's kick gave New York a 10-9 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.

Wes Welker was a surprise scratch from the game but rookie receiver Julian Edelman (8 catches, 98 yards) did fine in his NFL debut. Jets stud cornerback Darrelle Revis (5 tackles, 1 INT) completely neutralized Randy Moss (4 catches, 24 yards).

For whatever reason, Tom Brady (23-for-47, 216 yards, 1 interception) and the rest of the offense have never looked in a rhythm so far in the first two games (save for the last five minutes vs. Buffalo).

Joey Galloway (5 catches, 53 yards) had a bunch of balls thrown his way yesterday but he never seemed to be on the same page as Brady.

Fred Taylor was the leading rusher for New England with 46 yards but its obvious that the offense needs more balance, at least until Brady, Randy Moss, Welker, etc. start firing on all cylinders.

After a Feely field goal in the third quarter and another in the fourth (giving New York a 16-9 lead), New England still had life as it forced a Jets punt.

His whole career and the freshest memory of all-the Buffalo game-completely obscures reality at this point with Brady as any comeback seems not only possible but a foregone conclusion. Not yesterday.

A fourth down pass to Galloway was incomplete and the Jets had picked up a big W after a week of running their mouths.

The Jets' defense is very solid and their blitz packages created constant pressure on Brady. He was never sacked (showing how overrated those are) but he could never get comfortable in the pocket.

Next week doesn't get any easier as the Atlanta Falcons (2-0), led by former BC star Matt Ryan, invade Gillette Stadium next Sunday afternoon.