How Did The New England Patriots React To Clinching A First Round Bye?

Dec 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warms up before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady

On the team making big plays when it was needed…
We made plenty of good ones in the fourth quarter to come from behind. That was great. Defensively, we played great again. I’m glad it came out the way that it did, it makes for a better Christmas. It’s always tough to get a win here, they’re a good team. They always play us pretty hard. We got their best today. We obviously didn’t do a very good job there in the first three quarters. We found a little rhythm there in the second half and got some points on the board. (We) made some plays at the end. It’s about making the critical plays and we found a way to do it.

On his run…
I just hope I can keep doing it. If I can make one or two of those a game, it helps. I thought I had an opportunity to make a couple more that I just missed on. I scrambled out there and I had Shane (Vereen) in the end zone open and I threw it at his feet. I would have loved to hit that one. They’re a good team, they challenge you in a lot of ways and certainly they have a good rush. They have some real good guys, some good matchups. They always do every week, get a lot of pressure. It kind of kept us off balance early and we figured (out) a way to settle it down a little bit in the second half and we played a little bit better.

On what it means to win close division games…
They are slim margins, it always comes down to the last play. I just wish we would play better for 60 minutes. We just haven’t figured out a way to play against these guys as well as we possibly can. We have to keep fighting, sometimes you have to grind them out. It’s tough to win games in the NFL, especially on the road against division opponents, division rivals. We have a big one coming up next week and we have to finish strong at home in the division. It would be great to get to 5-1, especially after losing the first division game. To win five straight, that would be great.

On the hurry up offense in the second half…
That was good. We got into a little rhythm there. I think it settled a few things down. We have to sustain it and get it in the end zone down there. We kind of came up short on that third and one, third and two, whatever it was. We just have to finish those drives, especially key drives like that where you can finally get a little momentum, a little rhythm. It’s a good defense, they challenged us. We had a long field all day, we had a couple good short fields that we took advantage of. The defense really stepped up when we needed them too.

On the Jets stylistic defense…
It could be. I think this is a team that does a lot of things well. They have good scheme, good players, a good rush, good in the middle of the defense, good middle linebacker, good safeties. The corners played well today. I just think we just got their best and I think we kind of sputtered there and got out of rhythm. We finally found a little rhythm there in the second half and scored enough points.

On the passing game…
We just weren’t very productive in the pass game in general. Whether it was really Gronk (Rob Gronkowski), (Brandon) LaFell or Danny (Amendola). We just really didn’t a rhythm all day.

On Amendola…
He did a great job and he’s been really looking for this opportunity. I thought he did a great job in there in the role that he played. He’s a very good player for us. He did a good job returning some great kicks and punts. It will be good to get Jules (Julian Edelman) back next week. Hopefully, he can get back next week.

On the interception…
It’s a comeback, I just couldn’t hit it. I hate to do that, I hate to have those things come up. I’m glad our defense held and ended up working out for us in a weird way. I just wish those things wouldn’t happen.

On why they use a faster tempo more often…
That’s a good question. I think there are defiantly times we do a good job of it. I don’t know. That’s a good question. We do it at different times and sometimes it works. I don’t know.

On being sacked four times and the offensive line…
I think they’re giving good protection. I just think our communication wasn’t great. We all just weren’t on the same page. When you do that, especially against a team who moves a lot of guys in and out of their defensive front and they blitz linebackers and safeties. They have a lot of guys coming. Our communication needs to be on point and it just kind of sputtered. We need to do a better job of that, especially here down the stretch.

On Vince Wilfork’s blocked field goal…
(It was) awesome. He’s always a big time playmaker for us. He’s a great player and he always makes great plays. You really count on those guys, especially when the offense wasn’t doing as well. To get plays like that from Vince, Jamie Collins, (Dont’a) Hightower, (Darrelle) Revis, (Brandon) Browner and all those guys in there. They’re doing a great job.

On Bolden’s run…
(It was) just a phenomenal run. He’s a great back. It’s just great to give him the ball. He has just great explosion. He can turn the corner. His role on special teams is huge. He’s just a player for us. Anytime he gets the opportunity or his number gets called, he always takes advantage of it. He made some great runs tonight.

On how exhausting the Jets defense is…
It’s that, it’s a smart defense, really quality players on the defensive line, on the linebacker level. They’ve played together for a long time. They get pressure on you. They kind of get you off balance early and then you’re thinking about things all day. It keeps you out of rhythm. I think we did some things with the tempo to settle it down (and) to find a little rhythm. We just didn’t score enough points or a lot points. We have to do a better job in what we do.