David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Patriots owner Robert Kraft talked about Gronkowski’s surgery and exuded confidence on the matter, “We were told it was as good a report as we could hope for.”

Cornerback Aqib Talib decided to re-sign with the New England Patriots on a one-year deal worth $5 million this offseason, which was an absolute steal for the Patriots considering the fears that Talib would get a big contract elsewhere and also considering that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie received the same deal from the Denver Broncos. Talib saw a drier market than expected due to an overflow of free agent CBs (such as new Miami Dolphins corner Brent Grimes), and a big 2013 season from Talib would showcase better consistency and yield bigger results for the Pats CB in free agency.

Talib spoke to the media today and said of staying in New England, via the Boston Herald, “It’s a great organization, a great team,” Talib said. ”This is where I wanted to be. Definitely, I feel like I fit in.”

One more from Talib, ”This is a great organization, a great team, great teammates.”

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks dealt the New England Patriots a tough blow on the road a week before, and the Pats were looking to make things right by taking it out on the circus of the division. But the Jets were anything but a laughingstock in this one, as Mark Sanchez led them to an incredible fourth quarter performance. They came into the fourth down 23-13, but Sanchez tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Keller and Nick folk knocked down two 43-yard field goals to give the Jets a 26-23 lead.

Now that’s scary. The Jets were leading 26-23 in Foxboro, and the Patriots had just 1:37 left to put some points on the board. Sanchez showed some clutch ability in giving the Jets a lead, but Tom Brady showed that he is the king of clutch drives by hitting up star tight end Rob Gronkowski for back-to-back 15 and 12-yard completions to set the Pats up at the 48. Then, Danny Woodhead took over and showed why he is one of the must clutch players in the league by reeling off a big 20-yard gain on his first reception, then putting Stephen Gostkowski into better field goal position by snagging a seven-yarder. Brady and the Patriots were incredible working out of the no-huddle in a clutch situation, and they were able to save their third timeout to give Gostkowski the chance to knock down the field goal with five seconds left.

Gostkowski was criticized for not performing in the clutch and missing late field goals, as some Pats fans were still upset over his miss against the Arizona Cardinals. I felt somewhat vindicated by standing by Gostkowski as a great kicker when he nailed the 43-yarder to tie it up at 26, but there was still work to be done.

The Patriots started off with the ball in overtime, and their drive was nearly killed off on third-and-seven with the ball at their own 44 after an incomplete pass to Aaron Hernandez, but a pass interference from Jets corner Kyle Wilson saved the Jets. Gostkowski had a second clutch field goal to attempt, and he delivered by also hitting a 48-yarder to give the Pats a 29-26 lead.

The Jets weren’t done, though, and they continued to scare the Patriots at home. Alfonzo Dennard committed a penalty of his own (holding) on third down to get the Jets going, and Sanchez hit up Jeremy Kerley for a 17-yard pass to get the Jets to their own 40. But that’s as far as the Jets would go, because Rob Ninkovich performed one of the most heroic plays of the Patriots season. He and Jermaine Cunningham teamed up for a 12-yard sack of Mark Sanchez, and Ninko (one of the best players in the league at forcing and recovering fumbles) pounced on the loose ball to give the Pats the win. Thus, the Pats won on a game-winning fumble.

Each week, I do a “What We Learned” post on Monday after the game, but I feel like we need to run through some stuff we “learned” from this game in context. So below are some bullet points on why this game was so significant.

1. We realized just how bad the Patriots pass defense was, and I think this is when the Pats realized they needed to get another cornerback. The Pats managed to make Mark Sanchez look good by allowing him to throw for 328 yards, 8.0 yard per attempt, and a 90.3 QB Rating. While those numbers are a bit inflated (his TQBR was below 50), Sanchez still looked a lot better than he should have. The Pats acquired Aqib Talib during the bye week following their blowout victory in London over the St. Louis Rams, but let’s just say that this too-close-for-comfort game against the Jets was the final straw. They realized that Kyle Arrington is a good slot corner, but he is terrible on the outside; Arrington had a terrible game against the Jets. It showed the Pats that they needed a true outside CB and someone who could lock down possession receivers, as they were unfairly playing Arrington out of position throughout the beginning of the year.

2. The fact that the Patriots were able to pull this game out and not completely blow it after the Jets near-comeback in the fourth quarter was a moral boost for this team. They really needed it after losing out at the end to the Seahawks, and this game against the Jets started a seven-game winning streak for the Patriots. This game taught the Patriots a real lesson, and that is to not discount any opponent. Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, and other veterans will tell you this all the time, but it seemed like younger players like Dennard and Stevan Ridley needed to have that lesson ingrained into their minds.

3. Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, and Aaron Hernandez all did a solid job moving the chains, and they rose up to help Brady move the ball down the field in important situations. Gronk caught six passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns, and that’s the kind of dependability, solid production, and playmaking ability at the TE position that the Pats were making. He was their best playmaker last season, and the Pats lost a lot of schematic advantages when he went down.

4. We didn’t learn this, but if you watch this game again closely, you’ll once again be amazed at just how good the Patriots starting linebackers are. Dont’a Hightower looks like a solid LB for a long-time, Brandon Spikes is a true difference-maker on defense, and Jerod Mayo is indeed one of the best linebackers in the league right now. If you still think he is overrated, then you probably didn’t watch him as closely as you think you did this past season. He improved greatly in pass coverage (Hightower and especially Spikes still have some work to do in that regard, though) and looked lively against the run.

This “Look Back” series is driven by reader suggestions, and this piece was suggested to us by Musket Fire staff writer Cyrus Geller, who told me that this game was an extremely important one for the Patriots.

Past “Look Back” pieces

Patriots score 21 points in 52 seconds to help destroy the Jets.

Defensive end Chandler Jones debuts against the Tennessee Titans.

The Arizona Cardinals upset the Patriots in Week 2.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Both Talib and Vollmer had similar free agencies, because both “Big Three” free agents received much less interest than initially anticipated. Talib ended up taking a one-year deal with the Patriots in order to prove himself in 2013 with a big year and set himself up for a lucrative contract in a better market in the 2014 offseason. Since Vollmer had a softer market than anticipated, several people speculated that Vollmer would go the same route.

Instead, he signed a four-year deal with the New England Patriots and took the long-term security instead, and it is a deal that works out well for both sides. According to Pro Football Talk, Vollmer will receive $17 million in base salary over those four seasons with incentives that could push the deal up to a total of $27 million.

This is a great situation for the Patriots, because they will be able to secure their elite right tackle and free agent priority for four seasons on a team-friendly deal. $17 million in base salary for four seasons is quite cheap, and only $8.25 million of the contract is guaranteed. That’s significantly less than what the other tackles who hit free agency made this offseason, and Vollmer was better than almost all of those tackles. Injuries led to a lower base salary and less guaranteed money, but Vollmer can put himself in a position to make money if he stays healthy.

$27 million over four years equates to roughly $8 million per year, which is about the going rate for tackles like Vollmer. So if he can stay healthy and, thus, effective, the top three RT will play under a deal that exactly fits his value for the Patriots. If he does that, then it’s a good deal for the Patriots- no doubt about that. They will be getting an elite right tackle on fair value. If he isn’t able to stay healthy, then the Patriots have a way out. Vollmer is slated to have $9 million of that $27 million (one-third of the pie) as roster bonuses or playing time incentives added to the deal.

Chalk this up as another shrewd contract made by the New England Patriots, and Sebastian Vollmer gets the long-term security he covets. It was also clear that Vollmer wanted to stay with the New England Patriots, and he will get to stick around with this team for the near future on a deal that pays him exactly what he puts in. There is no question that Vollmer will be effective, but Vollmer’s health is the big question there. The Patriots answered that question with this deal, and there are very little qualms that could be made about this deal.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.