New England Patriots secure No.1 seed in the AFC

In Week 17, the New England Patriots were able to defeat the New York Jets to secure home-field throughout the AFC Playoffs.

Coming into Week 17, the New England Patriots had a lot on the line as big favorites against the New York Jets. Since the Patriots were able to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers a few weeks ago, they were able to get the inside track for the No.1 seed in the AFC.

Last week, the Patriots were able to handle their business rather easily against the Buffalo Bills. In Week 17, they were able to do that once again against the Jets. With the Jets starting Bryce Petty due to the injury to Josh McCown, this was an easy game on paper for the Patriots.

In the win, the Patriots’ defense played very well, as they held the Jets to just six points. While they did allow some big plays in the game, they were able to limit any damage by holding the Jets to just two field goals.

On the offensive side of the ball, it was the Dion Lewis show for the Patriots. In the win, Lewis totaled 93 rushing yards, 40 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns. Lewis touched the ball over 30 times in the game, as the Patriots clearly featured him on a cold day.

For Tom Brady, he didn’t have a monster game, but he was able to eclipse the 4,500-yard passing mark for the season. Brady also snapped his interception streak, as he was struggling with turnovers the past five weeks.

What was very surprising in the win was that Rob Gronkowski didn’t get targeted at all in the game. While Gronkowski didn’t play much in the second half, he was out there a majority of the time in the first half. The Jets did double team him frequently, and this opened up opportunities for Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola.

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Now, the Patriots will have a nice week to heal up and relax with a bye week. After that, they will be hosting an opponent in the AFC Divisional Round.